Criminals are using the UK’s ongoing heatwave as cover for a fresh wave of “Hi Mum” and “Hi Dad” impersonation scams, with fraudsters claiming their phones have broken in the heat before persuading parents to hand over money, in some cases totalling tens of thousands of pounds.
Scammers are exploiting the current heatwave to run a new variant of the long-standing “Hi Mum” text fraud, targeting parents with messages that claim their child’s phone has been damaged by the hot weather. The scam typically begins with a text or WhatsApp message from an unknown number opening with “Hi mum” or “Hi dad,” asking the parent to continue the conversation on a “new number” due to an emergency. Fraud prevention experts say the heat itself has become the excuse criminals use to explain why the supposed family member is contacting them from an unfamiliar number.
How the Scam Unfolds
Once contact has been established, the fraudsters move quickly to request money, typically framing it as a loan or gift needed urgently, and providing bank details belonging to a supposed friend rather than the child themselves. This mirrors the structure of the original “Hi Mum” scam, which has circulated for some time, but with the heatwave now woven into the story to make the initial approach feel more plausible.
The Financial Toll on Victims
The losses involved can be substantial. Individual victims in the UK have reportedly lost around £3,000 on average, though some parents have been manipulated into sending as much as £47,000 across multiple payments. According to Action Fraud, reports of “Hi Mum” scams resulted in losses exceeding £226,000 between 2023 and 2025, with parents among the groups most frequently targeted by this type of fraud.
Why Scammers Use Current Events
Fraud experts note that criminals routinely adapt their scripts to reflect whatever is dominating the news at the time, whether that’s major national stories or, in this case, extreme weather, precisely because doing so makes the approach feel more timely and believable to potential victims.
How to Protect Yourself
Experts are urging parents not to respond directly to suspicious messages of this kind, and never to transfer money based solely on a text or WhatsApp request, even when it appears to come from a family member. Instead, anyone receiving such a message should independently verify it by calling their child on their usual, known number. Suspicious texts can also be forwarded free of charge to 7726, a service that helps mobile providers identify and block scam campaigns as they emerge.
