In the texts – often giving the correct names of sons and daughters – crooks posing as the offspring of the victims say they damaged, lost or had their phones stolen.

They then ask for money – saying their change of phone number means they can’t temporarily access their regular online banking services.

A Derbyshire Police spokesperson said: “Always check requests in person or verbally to make sure you are talking to who you think you are.”

In another Whatsapp scam, the crooks send a verification code to the victim and then, again, impersonating friends or family members, claiming to be sending messages from a different number and trying to reset their account.

The crooks say that by asking for a verification code, they entered the target’s number by mistake and ask if they can pass the code to them.

Once they have a target’s code, they can access their account and launch attacks against other people – as well as gain access to all of their WhatsApp messages.

Sent messages will appear to contacts as originating from the victim.

Derbyshire Police advise: “Never disclose or share a verification code sent to you by WhatsApp – or even any platform, no matter how compelling the request is.

“If you’ve shared a code before, change your account settings to enable two-step verification.

“To do this, open the app, click the three dots, go to settings, account, two-step verification – this will require you to create a six-digit PIN.”

For more information, click HERE.