Borderers have been targeted by scam messages received over WhatsApp.

Police say that these involve receiving a message from an unknown number claiming to be from your son or daughter, followed shortly after by a request to help with money.

The "family member" will likely claim that the mobile they normally use is broken, or has fallen into water and is unusable. They may ask you to delete the old number so you cannot contact your genuine family member.

Police say that whilst it is human nature to want to help members of your family, never send any personal information or details until you have either spoken to them in a voice call, or face to face.

The scammer may know a bit about your family members life, which makes the messages received seem more plausible. They, or someone else close to them, may have had their social media account hacked.

Police have issued the following advice to keep your WhatsApp account safe:

Don’t share your login details or verification code with anybody. Not even your closest family or trusted friends.

Set up two-step verification to secure your account.

Be wary of WhatsApp messages requesting money, even if they come from your contacts. If you’re not sure, give the friend a quick call to check.

If you think you may have given sensitive details, such as payment information, to fraudsters, let your bank know what’s happened immediately.

We can all do our part to help protect those who may be more vulnerable to this type of scam. Please pass this message on to as many people as you can.

WhatsApp users who have lost access to their accounts can contact support@whatsapp.com.