A Perth mother avoids losing about $1.2 million in life savings after a Westpac banker notices a small error in a scam email hours before a property settlement. According to reports, the scam targeted the woman as she prepared to buy her first home, using communications intended to persuade her to transfer funds. The banker’s attention to detail—specifically a typo in the email—leads to the matter being identified as fraudulent before the transfer could be completed. The incident highlights how criminals can use sophisticated methods to impersonate legitimate parties and create time pressure around transactions such as property settlements. The accounts describe the woman as being at the final stages of the purchase when the problem is detected, preventing the planned payment and protecting her savings. Both outlets frame the prevention as coming from the banker’s quick review of the email rather than from the customer initially identifying the scam, resulting in the attempted fraud being stopped close to settlement time.