Social media scams

You receive a WhatsApp message from a friend or family member who urgently needs financial help. It will often be from a phone number you don’t have saved in your contacts, but the profile picture can be of the person they’re claiming to be. This person writes that, for example, they’re stuck abroad and have lost their money, documents and phone. Or their phone has accidentally ended up in the washing machine or fallen into the toilet. 

This ‘acquaintance’ has, therefore, lost access to the ABN AMRO app and asks you to advance them some money so that they can pay a bill that needs paying immediately. If you send the money, there will often be a second request for money. The real acquaintance is completely unaware of any of this. This form of fraud is also known as a ‘friend in need’ scam. 

Please note: criminals will sometimes go so far as to read up on the person they are posing as by going through their social media, referring to current events, copying their writing and even using voice fragments in the correspondence. 

1. Establish in-person or phone contact
   Using the number you have for the friend or family member in need, call them before you proceed to transfer money. Tip: use video call to see the person at the other end of the line.  
2. Agree a code word
   Criminals use smart technologies. Artificial intelligence (AI), for example, lets them clone someone’s voice, such as that of a family member. To prevent fraud, you can agree a code word with your children that they can use when they really need money.
3. Scammers are often in a (big) hurry
   The scammer will try to get you to act fast. The bill really has to be paid today.
4. Unknown account
   The account they want you to transfer money into is unknown to you. 
5. The ‘acquaintance’ doesn’t want to communicate in any other way
   Or they may claim that they are unable to, perhaps because their phone is broken.
6. Ask the acquaintance to send a voice message
   If the scammer actually calls you and you hear only some vague voice fragments, remember that these may be voice recordings they’re playing from social media (videos).
7. Language errors
   The WhatsApp message sometimes contains (several) language errors.

If you have fallen victim to fraud, we advise you to report the matter to the police first of all. If the fraudster is known to the police, we can share their name and address details with you so that, if you wish, you can take legal steps yourself to get your money back.
 
If you have already reported the matter and would like the fraudster’s name and address details, please contact us.

If you report the scammer’s telephone number to WhatsApp, they will block the number (after having verified that the report is justified). This way you are helping to prevent others from being scammed. If you want to save the chat, possibly to be able to report the matter to the police, take a screenshot first before you go through the steps below.

• Open the chat with the telephone number you want to report to WhatsApp.
• Tap the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
• Tap ‘More’ and then ‘Report’
• Tap the contact you want to report.
• Scroll down and tap ‘Report contact’.

The steps may be slightly different on your mobile phone.   

Make your WhatsApp account extra secure and keep out unwanted users by setting up two-step verification.

• With two-step verification, you can only access your WhatsApp account by entering a PIN of your own choosing.
  (To set it up, go to: Setting > Account > Two-step verification). 
• Never give your code to anyone on WhatsApp.