"Hi Mum, it's me on a new number": the family scam

Escudo guide · Updated July 2026

How the scam works

It usually starts gently. A text or WhatsApp from an unknown number: "Hi Mum, I dropped my phone down the loo, this is my new number, save it." No money yet, just a warm hello and a reason the number changed. A day or an hour later comes the real ask: a bill that must be paid today, a phone they cannot access their banking on, a landlord threatening eviction. Can you send it now, they will pay you straight back.

In the UK this is the "Hi Mum" or "Hi Dad" scam, and it is one of the most common family cons of all. The same wound is pressed the same way around the world. In Portugal it runs as "olá mãe, mudei de número" and in Spain as "mamá, cambié de número". One script, many languages.

Why it works even on careful people

• It uses love, not logic. The moment you believe your child is in trouble, the careful part of your brain goes quiet.
• The new number is explained first. By the time money comes up, you have already accepted why they are texting from a stranger's number.
• Pressure and secrecy. "Please don't tell Dad", "I'm so embarrassed", "it has to be today". Real emergencies rarely forbid you from ringing family.
• New voice cloning. Some scam calls now use short clips of a real voice. A voice sounding right is no longer proof. The check below still works.

The one check that stops it

1. Do not send money and do not read out any codes. Not while you are unsure, no matter how urgent it sounds.
2. Call them on the number you already have saved. Not the new number that texted you. If they answer and know nothing about it, you have your answer.
3. Ask something only they would know, that is not on social media. The name of a pet from childhood, what you cooked last Sunday. A scammer will dodge, stall or get angry.
4. Refuse the pressure openly. "I'm going to call you first" is a complete sentence. A real family member will understand. A scammer will push harder, and that push is itself the answer.

We do not tell you a message is fake. We cannot know that, and neither can any app. What we can tell you is this: verify through another channel, never pay under pressure, and if you are being frightened into sending money, contact the authorities.

Already sent money?

• Call your bank now using the number on the back of your card. Bank transfers can sometimes be stopped or recalled if you act within minutes.
• Keep the messages and the number. Do not delete them, they are evidence.
• Report to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, report to Police Scotland on 101. If you believe someone is in genuine immediate danger, call 999.
• Under UK rules many banks must reimburse victims of authorised push payment fraud. Ask your bank about a reimbursement claim.

Being tricked here is not a sign of being gullible. It is a sign that you love someone, which the scammer counted on. If you tapped a link rather than sent money, see you already tapped a scam link.

Protecting your mum or dad from this one

This is the scam that hurts most, because it wears the face of family. The best defence is a plan agreed in advance. Pick a family word, out loud, today: a simple phrase anyone can ask for on a strange call before any money is discussed. And agree one rule together: no money moves on a text from a new number until someone calls the old number first.

The Escudo app can help with the first door, the flood of scam texts that reach an unknown number folder, by helping filter known scam patterns and setting them aside before they are read. It cannot judge whether a particular message is truly your child, and it never claims to. Nothing is deleted, only moved to a junk folder, and your messages never leave your phone. The family word and the phone call are still the things that keep everyone safe. To understand who sends these, read how SMS scam gangs actually operate.