Did a child try to send you 42 thousand this summer? The police recently warned about WhatsApp scams. As far as I know, first in the Ostrava region, and lastly in the České Budějovice region. For example here: https://policie.gov.cz/clanek/falesne-deti-opet-utoci.aspx
But of course it doesn't matter where you are physically. Everything happens online. My mom texted my "sister" like this over the weekend. And she's neither in Ostrava nor in Budějovice...
Attack progress
First, the child writes an SMS saying that he has a problem with his mobile phone.
Then the communication continues on WhatsApp, where he asks for money (usually a payment of around CZK 40,000, of course to someone else's account). People have already sent around three million crowns this way for vacations.
Look for warning signs
- We write to each other through a different channel, not where we normally do, because something (dead, broken, blocked mobile phone)
- If a person can't make calls, wants money, and is generally weird, then it's a scam on 99%
- Weird = (1) "it can stay between us" type of messages, (2) "you already sent it" time pressure, (3) person changes during the text "I'm alone", (4) Yelling and nagging, etc.
What to do
- Definitely don't send anything. Or verify "otherwise" if it's really the person. Otherwise = call me from someone (in corporates you know this principle as the second factor, MFA or 2FA)
- You need to stay calm and not start hysterical, not send something somewhere right away, you need to think. These attacks go through emotions: "I'm in trouble and I need help NOW."