AI voice technology has evolved to the point where scammers can now clone your child’s voice to steal thousands from you with a simple “Hi Mum” WhatsApp message.
Key Takeaways
- The “Hi Mum, Hi Dad” WhatsApp scam has resulted in £226,744 in financial losses in the UK alone between 2023-2025
- Scammers are now using AI voice technology to clone voices, making their deception increasingly difficult to detect
- Data shows scammers impersonating sons are most successful, followed by daughters and mothers
- Experts recommend setting up family passwords and always verifying requests by calling the person’s known number
- If you’ve transferred money to a scammer, contact your bank immediately to attempt stopping the payment
How The “Hi Mum” Scam Works
While Americans struggle with inflation and economic uncertainty under the Biden administration, criminals are adding insult to injury by deploying sophisticated new scams targeting vulnerable families. The “Hi Mum” scam begins with a message from an unknown number claiming to be a child who has lost or broken their phone. These messages appear casual and urgent, creating the perfect emotional trigger for concerned parents to respond without proper verification. Scammers have perfected a pattern: first contact with a plausible explanation for the new number, followed quickly by an urgent financial request.
Scammers will say something like: “Hi, Mom, this is my new number. Can you save it and send me a message on WhatsApp as soon as you see this?”
The scammers typically request money transfers to unfamiliar accounts, sharing of security codes, or personal information that can be used for identity theft. They create a false sense of urgency, claiming they need immediate help to pay bills, fix their broken phone, or handle another emergency. Variations include impersonating other family members like grandparents or cousins, targeting multiple family members for maximum financial gain while the government does little to protect citizens from these increasingly sophisticated attacks.
The AI Voice Evolution
What’s particularly alarming is how rapidly these scams are evolving with cutting-edge technology that’s outpacing law enforcement capabilities. While Democrat lawmakers focus on censoring conservative speech online, criminals are freely utilizing artificial intelligence to clone voices with just a few audio samples from social media posts or videos. These AI-generated voice messages can sound remarkably like your loved ones, adding a terrifying new dimension to the fraud that has already cost hundreds of thousands of pounds in the UK alone.
“We’re hearing of instances where AI voice impersonation technology is being used to create WhatsApp and SMS voice notes, making the scam seem ever more realistic,” says Chris Ainsley of Santander UK.
Santander UK’s head of fraud risk management, Chris Ainsley, warns that the technology behind these scams is advancing at “breakneck speed.” Data from Santander reveals that scammers impersonating sons have the highest success rate, followed by those pretending to be daughters or mothers. This targeted approach demonstrates the sophisticated social engineering at work, as criminals fine-tune their tactics while regulatory agencies fail to implement meaningful protections for hardworking Americans.
How to Protect Yourself
With government agencies seemingly more interested in monitoring parents at school board meetings than stopping international scam networks, Americans must take personal responsibility for protection. If you receive a suspicious message from an unknown number claiming to be a family member, don’t reply immediately. Instead, contact your loved one through their known phone number or social media accounts to verify their identity. Never transfer money without confirmation, regardless of how urgent the situation sounds.
“If you’re ever asked for money out of the blue on any social or communication platform, verify the request by picking up the phone,” asserts Ainsley.
Security experts recommend establishing family passwords that only legitimate family members would know. Limit personal information shared on social media and strengthen privacy settings to prevent scammers from gathering details about your life and relationships. Enable two-factor authentication for all accounts containing payment information and be especially wary of any communication requesting urgent financial assistance. If you’ve fallen victim to such a scam, contact your bank immediately to try stopping the payment and report the incident to relevant authorities.
The Bigger Picture
The rising prevalence of these scams highlights the dangerous intersection of technology advancement and government incompetence. While Biden’s administration focuses on censoring political opponents and implementing wasteful spending programs, ordinary Americans are left vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated criminal enterprises. The “Hi Mum” scam represents just one example of how criminals exploit technology gaps while regulatory agencies fall behind, unable or unwilling to protect citizens from the real threats in our digital landscape.
As AI technology continues to advance, we can expect these scams to become even more convincing and harder to detect. The financial and emotional toll on victims is substantial, yet receives minimal attention from mainstream media outlets more concerned with pushing progressive narratives than protecting American families. Until government priorities shift toward meaningful consumer protection rather than endless spending and identity politics, citizens must remain vigilant and take personal responsibility for their digital security.
