Man scammed out of £4,000 after letting kid use his phone in 'emergency'

A man was scammed out of £4,000 after trying to help a young boy "contact his parents".

Anyon Rettinger from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was approached by the stranger on an electric scooter, who was said to be around 12 years old.

The kid asked Anyon if he could use his phone to get in contact with his parents, claiming he had been riding around on the scooter and his funds were running low as he rode too far.

Anyon handed over his phone in an attempt to help the boy, who turned away for "less than a minute".

He handed the phone back and rode away.

Anyon soon realised he had opened up his Apple Pay and managed to transfer a staggering £4,000 out of his account.

"That internal panic kicks in, you know," he told WISN 12 News, explaining that he was unable to cancel the transaction as the bank saw it as a "valid charge."

"Even my recurring bills are not remotely as high as thousands of dollars," he continued. "So this should have had a red flag on that through their system."

"In a very large grand scheme, it isn't that big of a deal. But for a 27-year-old that doesn't have a lot of money that's trying to make it? It's huge."

Luckily, he was able to get his money back after a back-and-forth with his bank and filing a theft report with authorities.

It comes after WhatsApp users were warned about a random video-calling scam that could rob them of their personal information.

People online shared their frustration at the scam, suggesting the issue is quite widespread.

One person said: "Sick and tired of these spam calls on WhatsApp, now it's video calls. Everyone I know is getting them, and it's getting out of control."

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