Social engineering

WhatsApp 'hi mum' / 'mamma sono io' scam

A new number messages 'hi mum, I changed number, I need a transfer'. Targets parents and grandparents across Europe.

6 min readBeginner

Red flags to recognize

Message from an unknown number claiming to be your son/daughter
Missing or generic profile picture
Excuse for the new number: broken phone, lost, abroad
Urgency: 'I must pay tonight or lose the purchase'
Request not to call the old number ('it is blocked')
Slightly unnatural language or repetitive pattern
Unknown IBAN or one held in a name different from the child

What to do now

Call the child's old number immediately: 9 times out of 10 they answer
Agree on a family codeword for financial emergencies
Never send money to an IBAN that does not match the child's name
If the message insists, demand an immediate video call
Forward the message to another relative for cross-check
Keep screenshots with number, time and IBAN for the report

Real case

'Hi mum' cluster on Italian grandmothers, 2025

A retiree in Treviso receives on WhatsApp: 'Hi mum, it's Marco, I broke my phone, I am writing from a friend's number. I need an urgent 1,800 EUR transfer to close a contract; I will pay you back as soon as I can. Do not call the old number, it is blocked.'

She sends the transfer. Only three hours later Marco comes home from work and discovers the scam. The IBAN was Polish, owned by an online-recruited mule. The WhatsApp number was discarded within six hours.

Mythos analyzed the message: dialect inconsistent with the real son, IBAN linked to a known cyber-crime cluster in northern Italy. The number was a UK virtual SIM already flagged. The dossier linked the case to 47 related attacks on the same mule network.

What Mythos can do on this case

Message linguistic analysis (known 'hi mum' scam patterns)
Sender number verification (VoIP, virtual SIM, registration country)
Receiving-IBAN cross-check with known money-mule clusters
WhatsApp profile metadata extraction (photo, account age, status)
Dossier with digital chain of evidence for the report

Next steps

Analyze the chat with Mythos Lesson: protect older parents