Wolfgang Van Halen has called out an Instagram user for pretending to be his dad, Eddie Van Halen – and he’s warned fans not to fall for the scam.

In a series of Instagram posts (below), Wolfgang revealed that someone had set up an account with a name similar to Eddie’s real one, and accused the faker of being a woman called Vanessa, based in Boston, who was apparently somehow trying to steal $40,000.

“This account has being going around and messaging people pretending to be @eddievanhalen (no underscore),” Wolfgang wrote. “If you’re following @_eddievanhalen (with an underscore) you’re following the wrong account. Notice how it doesn’t have a verification check? Go report this account, everyone!”

He then posted an image of a one-sided conversation he’d had with the unidentified user: “Oh hey, Dad! How’s it going?! It’s me. Your son. You obviously know that because you’re totally my dad.” He went on: “Stop messaging people pretending to be someone you’re not. You’ve been reported and your account is going to be shut down.”

You can swipe through screenshots of the entire conversation below in the second Instagram embed, and see how Wolfgang continues digging into the fake "Eddie," even after the person types numerous denials.

In a later post, Wolfgang uploaded a picture of himself with Eddie, writing: “I stopped by to see Pop anyway. Just to make sure he wasn’t a woman from Boston named Vanessa trying to steal $40,000. I’m still not 100% sure.”

Nice talking with you, Vanessa..I MEAN.. Dad. Swipe ⬅️

A post shared by Wolf Van Halen (@wolfvanhalen) on

Meanwhile, it’s been reported that Eddie Van Halen’s “Frankenstrat” guitar has been returned after it was stolen from the Hard Rock Cafe in San Antonio, Texas. The instrument, valued at $100,000, was taken off the wall where it was on display around 1am on Friday (Nov. 17).

It’s thought the thief entered the venue through a side door and walked out with the item under his arm, and its absence was only noticed when a staff member was helping close up for the night. Guitar World reported that “Frankenstrat” was later returned to the Hard Rock Cafe, with no explanation provided as to the chain of events.

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