New ‘Mom Help’ scam making the rounds in Ontario

A new day brings a new scam affecting residents in not only Mississauga and Brampton but all of Ontario.

This time, fraudsters are using their latest scheme to pull at the heartstrings of vulnerable parents, tricking them into thinking their kid is in trouble and needs their help.

Those who communicate with their kids through text might want to keep their eyes peeled for yet another “I broke my phone scam.”

The message reads, “Hi, Mom I’ve borrowed someone’s phone to text you. I broke mine.”

The text then asks the parent to send a message to a different number, as their loved one had to buy a brand new sim card.

A message like this could send all kinds of panic signals to parents, causing them to make the haste decision and contact the new number.

However, an alternative idea would be to remain calm and look for signs that you might be a victim to a scam.

In this case, the new number provided by the “child” in the text has a (778) area code, which belongs to the province of British Columbia.

This serves as a huge red flag for residents who are familiar with Ontario’s area codes: 416, 647, 437, 905 289, 365, 742 including the newest 942 launched in May (2023).

Peel Regional Police are advising people to not reply to these messages and delete them as any response could alert scammers that your number is active, prompting further spam messages.

Police also recommend blocking the number to avoid future contact.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre who track of major scams and frauds throughout the country, are urging residents to never share personal or financial information with unverified people or groups. This includes unknown numbers claiming to be a family member.