Gardaí issue urgent warning after WhatsApp scam begins circulating in Ireland
Gardaí have issued a warning to parents of a phone scam circulating on phones where fraudsters send texts purporting to be their kids and asking them to send them a WhatsApp message.Officers in Kilkenny issued the warning after a scam message was sent in, suggesting that their child had gone to buy a new phone and needed their dad to add them on WhatsApp.The scam text message read: "Dad I'm using this new number now, I've got a new phone. Can you save it and send me a Whatsapp".Gardaí are now warning members of the public to be wary of receiving a text message like this, especially if their child is too young to buy a replacement phone. Officers shared that had the person engaged, they would have ultimately been asked for cash by the scammers.Kilkenny Garda wrote in a post on Facebook: "One of the lads got this message a few minutes ago. Naturally he was a little dubious of the text as his child is far too young to have been going off buying replacement phones."If he had engaged, he would have been ultimately asked for money by this scammer. Beware they're still out there. Separately, if you get a message from one of your kids looking for money, it's probably one of your kids doing exactly that!!"Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
