Scamwatch figures reveal that Australians lost $2.6 million to this scam in the first seven months of 2022.

The message impersonating family members have been circulating for some time.

However, the ACMA is aware of a new, more convincing variation, which labels the sender of the scam message as “Mum” or another family member on your phone.

This makes these scams difficult to distinguish from legitimate messages. Here are the red flags to spot:

1. There will be a sense of urgency. The sender will claim that they forgot or brought the wrong bank/credit card when on a household errand such as getting petrol or groceries that requires money quickly.
2. The sender will ask you to transfer them money electronically and will provide bank account details in the message.
3. Do not reply directly in the message stream. If you are concerned, call or contact your relative on the number already stored in your phone to confirm it's real.

The ACMA is advising the public to never send money without confirming the identity of the recipient.

If users fell victim, contact the financial institution and phone provider and let them know what happened as soon as possible.

This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 20 January 2023.