“Mom, this is my new number”: how to spot a family impersonation scam

You can care about your family and still pause before sending money.

The answer in 2 lines. An unfamiliar number claims to be your child or another relative: the phone broke, an urgent bill needs paying and they cannot talk. Stop before sending money or sharing codes. Call your relative using the number already saved in your contacts, or reach another trusted family member. If you paid, contact the bank or payment service immediately and ask whether the transaction can be stopped or reversed. Save the messages and report the impersonation.

What to do when the message arrives

Pause the payment: do not send money, buy gift cards or share banking information while the person's identity remains unverified.
Contact your relative independently: call the number you already have. If there is no answer, contact someone else who can check on them.
Resist the secrecy: an instruction not to tell another family member is a reason to stop and verify, even if the story sounds embarrassing or urgent.
Save, report and block: keep screenshots and the sender's details before blocking. The FTC's text-reporting instructions explain how to forward unwanted texts to 7726 and report spam through your messaging service.

Stop: danger

Payment already sent: contact your bank or payment service immediately through its official app or a trusted number. Explain that an impersonator tricked you and request a stop, reversal or refund.
Account access or codes shared: tell the financial institution immediately. Change compromised passwords through the genuine website or app, and change reused passwords elsewhere.
A second request arrives: do not pay another fee, deposit or supposed recovery charge. Verify independently before taking any further action.

Why the story feels believable

The message combines a familiar relationship with an explanation for the unfamiliar number. An urgent payment request then gives you little time to think. The sender may claim a broken phone, an account problem or a situation that supposedly prevents a call.

A name, profile photo or convincing voice does not establish identity. The FTC's family-emergency scam guide explains how personal information and voice cloning can make an impersonation persuasive. Use its central check: contact the person through a channel you already trust. A personal question can support that check, but public information may give a scammer the answer.

What not to do

Saving the unfamiliar number under your relative's name before verifying it.
Replying with family names or personal details that help the sender build a better story.
Trusting a familiar-sounding voice as the only proof of identity.
Sending a small test payment: it still sends money to an unverified recipient.
Sharing a verification code, account password or photo of a payment card.
Keeping the incident secret because you feel embarrassed.

If you already paid

Describe the payment accurately: whether you sent it yourself after being deceived or whether someone accessed your account without permission. Ask the provider what recovery steps apply to that payment method. Recovery is not guaranteed, and different transaction types have different protections.

The FTC's recovery checklist separates card payments, bank transfers, payment apps, gift cards and cryptocurrency. Open the section matching your payment and follow its contact instructions. Keep transaction receipts, recipient details, message screenshots and the timeline. Do not delete the conversation after reporting it.

State law and the specific transaction may also matter. Do not assume that every payment you authorized after a scam must be reimbursed.

Where to report in the United States

Consumer fraud: use the FTC fraud reporting portal. Describe the impersonation, contact method and any payment. A report helps enforcement; it does not replace contacting the payment provider.
Internet-enabled crime: submit a complaint through the Internet Crime Complaint Center's official form. Gather the sender's contact details, transaction information and narrative before starting. Save the complaint information provided after submission.
Unwanted text: follow the linked FTC instructions for forwarding it to 7726, then block the sender.

Good to know

An inability to reach your relative does not confirm the emergency. Keep checking through trusted contacts instead of paying to relieve the uncertainty.
Discuss this scenario with family before it happens: urgent requests still need an independent callback.
Reporting does not guarantee an investigation or reimbursement. Continue working directly with the financial institution on the payment.

Linda receives a text claiming her daughter's phone broke and asking her to pay an urgent bill. Instead of replying with her daughter's name, Linda calls the saved number. Her daughter answers and knows nothing about the request. Linda saves the messages, reports the text and blocks the sender.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on November 5, 2026, for the United States. Confidence: high for independent verification and official reporting steps; medium for payment recovery, which depends on the transaction, provider and applicable law. No reimbursement is guaranteed.