“Hi Mom, my car’s broken down!”
“The tow truck is here, but the driver wants payment before he’ll take it.”
“Please can you quickly send him R5,000 by e-wallet? His number is…”
The messages appear to come from your 18-year-old daughter’s WhatsApp account. You picture her stranded at the roadside and reach for your banking app. In this scenario, though, the payment number belongs to a scammer.
A call to your daughter on the number you already have saved could reveal that she is safe and never sent the messages.
Whether the request appears to come from your child, a friend or another relative, a familiar account does not guarantee a genuine message.
In the latest video in Investec’s Power of Pause series, Kevin Hogan, Head of Fraud Risk, explains how criminals impersonate people on WhatsApp and what to check before sending money.
A growing threat to your money
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre’s (SABRIC) 2025 Annual Crime Statistics Report recorded approximately R2.4 billion in digital banking crime claims across 110,074 incidents reported by participating banks. The value of claims increased by 29.2% from 2024.
SABRIC identifies social engineering, in which criminals manipulate people into sharing or granting access to information or approving transactions, as a main driver.
A WhatsApp message is often the starting point. The criminal does not necessarily need access to your bank account if they can persuade you to make the payment yourself.
Two ways criminals may impersonate someone you know
A message from a new number: The sender claims to be your child, partner or friend and explains away the unfamiliar number with a broken, lost or replaced phone. Once you accept the explanation, they ask for money.
A message from a genuine account: A criminal gains access to someone’s WhatsApp account and sends requests in their name. The message may appear in an existing conversation, beneath a familiar profile picture.
Both versions exploit trust. An apparent emergency adds pressure to act before verifying. .
“The messages often feel personal and urgent because the criminal wants you to react before you have time to think,” says Hogan.
On Investec’s Everything Counts podcast, cyber psychology and awareness expert Anna Collard explains how criminals deliberately provoke anxiety: “They’ll try and send a message that will make us nervous or anxious because then we don’t actually think critically.”
Further listening
Everything Counts | Episode 31: Protecting your digital life: How to stay safe online
In this episode of Everything Counts, we explore the real-life consequences of phone theft and the hidden vulnerabilities most people overlook. Host Motheo Khoaripe is joined by Head of Fraud Risk at Investec, Kevin Hogan and cyber psychology and awareness expert, Anna Collard to unpack how quickly your digital life can unravel.
How criminals make the story convincing
Information shared online can help a stranger build a believable story. Posts about school celebrations, holidays, studies or a first job may reveal where someone is, what they are doing and who they know.
Criminals can use those details to make a request feel personal. Mentioning a trip your friend is taking or an event your child is attending may make an invented emergency seem plausible.
AI voice cloning can also make a familiar-sounding voice less reliable as proof of identity. A voice note that sounds like someone you know should not replace an independent check.
The power of pause
Knowing someone’s name, plans or whereabouts does not prove that a message is from them. Check the request through a separate, trusted channel.
Spot a WhatsApp scam
Save our one-page checklist of suspicious messages, checks before paying and steps to take if your account is compromised.
Before you pay, make the call yourself
Call your child or relative on a number you already have saved. If their WhatsApp account has been compromised, try an ordinary phone call or SMS rather than continuing in the same chat.
If you cannot reach them, contact someone who can confirm the situation, such as a friend they are with. Hold off on paying until you have checked.
Be cautious if the sender:
- Insists that payment cannot wait
- Avoids questions about what has happened
- Says they cannot speak or video call; or
- Asks you to pay an unfamiliar account or send money to another person’s cellphone number.
Agree with friends and family that unexpected requests for money will always be verified. You can also choose a private code word as an additional check. Use it alongside independent verification. For example:
“Hi Mum, I need money urgently. Please send R2,000.”
“Before we go further, what’s our private code word?”
Even if they answer correctly, call your loved one on their saved number to confirm.
How criminals gain access to WhatsApp
Criminals may persuade an account holder to share their six-digit registration code, which verifies their phone number. This can help the criminal register the account on another device.
The six-digit registration code on WhatsApp is a one-time password (OTP) sent via SMS or an automated voice call to verify that you own a specific phone number when setting up or logging into an account.
They may also exploit WhatsApp’s linked devices feature:
WhatsApp’s linked devices feature allows you to use a single WhatsApp account across up to four additional companion devices – such as computers, tablets, or secondary smartphones – without needing your primary phone to stay online.
A misleading link can also lead to instructions to enter a linking code or scan a QR code, supposedly to vote in a competition or complete another task.
Following those instructions can connect the criminal’s device to the account. These requests can arrive from someone you know whose account is already compromised.
Before following an instruction, check what it asks you to do, even if you recognise the sender and if it feels odd, pause and check.
Protect your account and your contacts
Securing your own account also helps protect people who would trust a message sent in your name.
- Keep codes private. Never share your WhatsApp registration code, two-step verification PIN or password.
- Enable two-step verification. Follow the prompts in WhatsApp’s account settings and add a recovery email address you control. Depending on your version, this may use a PIN or password.
- Review linked devices. Log out any device you do not recognise.
- Question unexpected instructions. Understand what you are authorising before entering a code, scanning a QR code or downloading an app.
- Keep your phone and apps updated. Enable automatic updates where possible.
Hogan stresses on Everything Counts that security requires several habits working together:
“In order for you to get the full benefit out of security, it’s these little things that you need to do, and it needs to become a habit.”
Device checks and when to investigate
A compromised WhatsApp account does not automatically mean your phone has malware. However, unexpected or persistent changes deserve attention:
- Slow performance or frequent crashes
- Persistent, unexpected pop-ups
- Apps you do not remember installing
- Faster-than-usual battery drain
- Unusual overheating, particularly when the phone is idle
For Android: Run a Google Play Protect scan and install available security updates. Follow official guidance to remove unsafe apps and seek trusted technical support if problems persist.
For Android or iPhone: If you suspect your device is compromised, use another trusted device to contact your bank and secure your accounts. Avoid banking or changing passwords on the affected device until it has been checked.
Suddenly lost mobile service?
If your phone unexpectedly loses signal and stops receiving calls or messages, or you receive a SIM swap notification you did not request, act immediately.
A SIM swap scam happens when a fraudster tricks your mobile network provider into transferring your phone number onto a new SIM card in their possession.
Criminals may have transferred your number to another SIM to intercept security codes and try to access your accounts.
Use another phone or a trusted internet connection to contact both your bank and mobile network through their official channels immediately. Ask them to investigate and secure your accounts. A loss of service does not prove fraud, but should not be ignored.
Download our one-page WhatsApp safety guide and share it with friends and family. Agree now that unexpected requests for money will always be checked, however urgent they sound.
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