MENLO PARK, Calif.–In an online environment in which it seems there is no end to all the financial threats credit unions must warn their members about, yet another new scam is increasing, this time involving WhatsApp.

According to security experts, the scam also begins with a message, “Hi mom, I’ve lost my phone.” That is followed by similar tales of woe that the sender, who is known to the recipient, has been locked out of his or her financial account and needs funds.

In this scenario, fortunately, a friend was nearby and if offering help and their phone—which is why the message is coming from an unknown number—and the recipient just needs to transfer some money to their account for any of a variety of reasons, including helping to pay rent or some other urgent bill, experts have explained.

Not Always Children

“The messages arrive on WhatsApp,  or by text. And the fraudsters are not always posing as children – sometimes they pretend to be friends, and sometimes they claim to be parents,” The Guardian reported.

The publication said data from Santander show that among customers of the bank, fraudsters pretending to be someone’s son were the most successful, followed by daughters, then mothers.

Chris Ainsley, the bank’s head of fraud risk management, told the news publication the scams are evolving at “breakneck speed.”

“We’re hearing of instances where AI voice impersonation technology is being used to create WhatsApp and SMS voice notes, making the scam seem ever more realistic,” he added.

From a ‘Friend’

In the WhatsApp scam, the “sender’s” usual bank account will be out of the question for the transfer for some reason, and they will ask that the targeted victim send it to an account they do not know with someone else’s details who is a “friend” or someone they owe. Experts are urging anyone contacted in such scams to call the number of the loved one or to ask a question only the loved one would know.