Sunday 26 June 2022 06:24 AM WhatsApp 'hi dad' scam almost costs immunologist Alan Baxter 5k after fraudster ... trends now
A scientist who was the target of a 'mum and dad' social media scam where he almost lost close to $5,000 cottoned on to the con thanks to the criminal's lack of punctuation.
Australian immunologist, and avid Twitter user, Alan Baxter has now hit out at banks for facilitating cyber criminals and not getting the scammer's account banned.
'Hi dad this is my temp number I'm using an old device until my phone is repaired,' the message read.
Immunologist Alan Baxter shared a conversation he had on WhatsApp with a scammer claiming to be his son (pictured)
Posing as Mr Baxter's 'son', the scammer said he needed money to fix his phone problem (pictured)
Dubbed the 'mum and dad' scam, Mr Baxter was the target of the WhatsApp con where fraudsters pose as an individual's child in desperate need of cash.
Mr Baxter (pictured) recognised the message as a scam and contacted ANZ bank after the scammer requested a money transfer into an ANZ account
Mr Baxter said the bad grammar in the message told him instantly it was not written by his son, and promptly contacted ANZ's customer help line to report the attempted fraud.
'My son is an English teacher so the lack of grammar and full-stops alerted me,' Mr Baxter told Daily Mail Australia.
'I first contacted ANZ's customer help line but I was told it (the scam) wasn't related to the banks activities and there was nothing that they can do.
'I thought it was an opportunity for the bank to close or freeze the account and even investigate the funds it has received.'
Mr Baxter alleges ANZ bank refused to take the scammers account details despite the account belonging to the bank (pictured, ANZ branch in Seven Hills, Sydney)