A dad nearly lost around $5,000 (£2,800) in a WhatsApp scam before noticing the fraudster's bad punctuation.
Australian immunologist Alan Baxter almost fell victim to the 'mum and dad' con after receiving a text in which someone posed as his child.
He has now criticised banks for not doing enough to stop cyber criminals, with ANZ allegedly initially refusing to investigate further.
The message Alan was sent said: "Hi dad this is my temp number I'm using an old device until my phone is repaired."
The fraudster then went on to say they were in desperate need of cash.
However, Alan said his son would not send a text without any punctuation and contacted bank ANZ's helpline to report the fraud.
He told Daily Mail Australia : "My son is an English teacher so the lack of grammar and full-stops alerted me.
"I first contacted ANZ's customer help line but I was told it [the scam] wasn't related to the bank's 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."
Alan claims the employee refused to take the scammer's account details.
In a Twitter post on June 18, Alan said: "So a general warning: If anyone is trying to get you to send money to the following ANZ account, it is probably fraud: Name: George M M BSB: 016 080 Account number: 316157952."
He added: "It all raises the issue of what responsibility a bank facilitating fraud has in a situation like this.
"They clearly profit from the fraud, provide the resources to enable it, and refuse to act even when offered evidence."
Responding to his tweet, ANZ said a screen grab had been sent to its hoax and cyber security department.
The bank has since said it has placed "restraints" on the fraudulent account amid an investigation.
In a statement sent to the Mail, it added that it had "promptly" taken steps to address the incident.
But added as the investigation is still underway it cannot comment further.
Also responding to Alan's tweets, other users said they have received similar scam texts on the messaging platform in which they are address as Mum or Dad.
Some said they had also come close to falling for them.
The Mirror has contacted ANZ for comment.
