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Please be aware that texts have been received by a number of people via 'WhatsApp' pretending to be their son or daughter claiming they have lost their phone and asking for either cash to be transferred to an account number or for a photo of a bankcard. Although the messages appear quite convincing, they are Scams' The next step to avoiding scams is to know how to protect yourself. While some of these are good advice in general, many are aimed at keeping you safe online: Avoid any unexpected contact. Any phone calls, letters, emails or people knocking on your door should be ignored. Never give out personal information. This can be used to steal your identity and access accounts. Keep operating system and virus protection software up-to-date. Don't ignore updates as these can often include patches to protect against new kinds of scams, viruses and ransomware. This goes for mobile devices as well. Make sure all accounts have a strong password. Don't use the same password for multiple accounts and change them regularly. Don't make any advanced payments until you are sure the company you are dealing with is legitimate. My advice is that such scams should be reported to www.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting | 
