An internet scammer posing as prime minister Malcolm Turnbull is attempting to trick kind-hearted Australians into sending money they say is to build an orphanage in Western Africa.
Monte, a medical university student from Tasmania, told BuzzFeed News he was contacted on Messenger by an account called "Malcolm Turnbull" after he "wow" reacted to a picture the prime minister posted on Facebook last month.
In the picture (below) the real Turnbull, front left in the white business shirt, is accompanied by Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman, far right in a white t-shirt with a beer schooner in hand, and Hobart locals at the Foreshore Motel & Tavern.
Not long after liking Mal's high angle selfie, Monte received a notification that "Malcolm Turnbull" wanted to connect with him on Facebook Messenger.
Being a Facebook-literate millennial, Monte was suspicious but curious enough to accept the request.
"Malcolm Turnbull" kicked off the exchange with a simple "hello", to which Monte replied "Hey Mal!"
"Thanks for your nice comments and like on my page," the account replied. "I really appreciate."
"How are you going with the Tasmanian state election," Monte asked about last weekend's poll, the reason behind the real Turnbull's trip south.
"Fine Thanks tell me more about your self?" it replied.
Monte knew instantly it was a fake account stalking the people interacting with the real prime minister's Facebook page, but was curious to see what the scammers wanted.
"I really like Barnaby Joyce," Monte replied, in reference to the public feud between the PM and his former deputy that erupted after Joyce's affair with a staff member was made public.
"Thanks for your caring words and your social and simplicity towards me i have a charity organization which i will want you to aid with little donation if you don't mind?" the account wrote back.
Playing along, Monte asked what charity the money would be going towards.
The fake "Malcolm Turnbull" told him it was to build an orphanage home and school called "House of Mercy Children's Home" in Western Africa, and he would be "so happy if you can help with a little donation".
There is a website for a House of Mercy Children's Home in Nigeria, which has a page warning about scammers.
When asked how much money the charity was looking for, the fake account replied "you can donate what you can afford".
"Is there anything else I need to know?" Monte asked.
"No can you help?" the account replied.
"Is this the real Malcolm?" Monte responded.
"Yes it's me Malcolm OK!" came the exasperated reply.
"How can I help?" Monte's final message read.
"How much do you want to donate then?"
The exchange ended there.
The fake account, which used the same picture as the PM's authorised Facebook page, was temporarily shut down, but this week has been back up.
A spokesperson for the Australian Federal Police (AFP) told BuzzFeed News that common sense is the key.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” they said. “In this case it appears it is a basic case of misrepresentation for financial gain. If you have fallen victim or paid money to the scammers, please report it to your local police.”
The AFP says anyone with concerns about potentially fake online accounts should report them to the platform, in this case, Facebook.
"If you’re concerned you’ve responded to one of these messages you can report it through the ACORN (www.acorn.gov.au) or to SCAM watch (www.scamwatch.gov.au)."
“This type of account and activity violates our policies,” a Facebook spokesperson told BuzzFeed News. “In the event that our automated systems do not prevent the creation of these types of accounts, we encourage people to report the account to us so that we can review and remove consistent with our policies.”
The real Malcolm Turnbull, and his wife Lucy, are worth hundreds of millions of dollars and are prolific philanthropists. Their foundation gave $780,000 to local charities, schools, universities and the arts in 2013-14.
There are dozens of fake "Malcolm Turnbull" pages on Facebook.
The account that was phishing Monte uses the same pictures as the real prime minister and puts up near-identical posts. The one indication of it's possible location is three recent check-ins in Bangladesh.
One appears to be run by a teenager living in the Himalayas, another by a TAFE student in Victoria, and a third replicates images from authorised Turnbull pages and engages with "friends" who do not appear to know they are not talking to the real prime minister.