MAFS meme creator Joshua Fox shares CSI-like stunt

A social media star put his sleuthing skills to the test on an epic journey to hunt down the person who stole $1300 from his bank account.

A British expat living in Sydney has decided to take the law into his own hands after he noticed suspicious transactions popping up on his bank account after a drunken night out.

After reporting the suspicious activity to police, Joshua Fox – a radio producer and the brains behind @mafsfunny Instagram account that boasts just shy of 100k followers – decided to try and solve the crime himself.

“I just thought nobody is taking me seriously,” Mr Fox told the NCA NewsWire.

“If you want something done, you’ve got to do it yourself.”

Josh Fox runs the MAFS meme account @mafsfunny. Picture: Instagram

Mr Fox said he first noticed his bank account was at risk when he received two notifications from his bank within the space of an hour saying his card had been used.

The first alert said he had withdrawn $300 at a Lakemba ATM in Sydney’s west and the second was a much larger transaction of $1017 spent at a tobacconist.

He locked his card and said a third transaction popped up on his phone for $1015 but was unable to be processed.

Mr Fox said he reported the fraudulent transactions to the Commonwealth Bank but was told it could take up to 45 days to get the money back.

“I don’t wanna be $1300 down for a month and a half when we’re in a cost of living crisis,” Mr Fox told his Instagram followers.

“I’ve got bills to pay, Commbank.”

Mr Fox created a CSI-style investigation pinboard. Picture: Instagram

The 31-year-old decided to retrace his steps using a cop-show style pinboard to piece together the events that led to his bank details being stolen.

All the metaphorical red string led back to a drunk night out at Frankie’s nightclub in Sydney CBD when he ordered a cab on Hunter St around 11.05pm to take him home.

He remembered the taxi driver told him he couldn’t pay with Apple Pay and asked him to run inside and get his bank card to pay for the ride.

“I was in the taxi, me and the guy were chatting away like we were best friends, having the time of my life and then the next minute he’s robbed me of $1000,” Mr Fox said.

He hailed a cab from Frankie’s club in Sydney’s CBD. Picture: Instagram

He alleges his card was skimmed while paying for the taxi fare. Picture: Instagram

Sharing the breakthrough with his 12.2k Instagram followers, Mr Fox revealed the receipt he received from the taxi driver was for $30.58.

The transaction never appeared on his bank statement.

“It has to be him! He skimmed me!,” Mr Fox wrote in a post to Instagram.

He claims the taxi driver in question likely used a skimming machine to store his card details and PIN number and make the fraudulent transactions.

“I may have been drunk but I still have my accountants incessant demand of “get a receipt for everything” ringing in my ears,” he wrote.

“So I did. Which means we’ve got the skimmer.”

Mr Fox took the cab receipt to the police but said he was told that as the transaction took place outside their command, they would pass the details on and someone might look into it.

Mr Fox visited the tobacconist where one of the charges was made. Picture: Instagram

He was told there was no CCTV camera at the tobacconist. Picture: Instagram

Tired of waiting for answers, Mr Fox drove to the inner west tobacconist himself and asked if he could see the store’s CCTV camera footage.

He claimed the sales assistant told him the store didn’t have one, but a video taken by Mr Fox shows the shop clearly had a camera on the wall.

NSW Police said an investigation had begun.

Mr Fox said he had received hundreds of messages a day from people all over Australia with similar experiences.

He said he wouldn’t let up until he solved the crime and brought justice to other potential victims of card fraud.

“I don’t want this to happen, I don’t want the taxi driver to keep doing this to other people,” he said.