ISLANDERS have lost £12,000 to a new WhatsApp message scam featuring messages purporting to be from family members asking for help.
Over the past week alone, the States police have received eight separate reports from Islanders who have received a scam message.
The message usually appears to come from a son or daughter, stating that their phone has been smashed or is broken and that the recipient will need to text them on this new number.
When the ‘parent’ sends a reply, the scammer then asks for money.
The total losses from the past week’s eight reports amount to around £12,000.
Police are now urging anyone who receives one of the messages not to share any financial or personal details.
Instead, people are advised to ignore the message and call the family member on their regular number.
The warning comes in the same week that the Jersey Fraud Prevention Forum reported that scams appeared to be on the rise, with Islanders having lost a record £600,000 in the past four months.
Among the key areas of concern were event ticketing scams, pet purchase scams and criminals offering fake cost-of-living support.
