'The lowest of the low': Kyle Sandilands reveals his mother Pam was scammed out of thousands as he issues warning to listeners
Kyle Sandilands has shared an urgent warning to listeners after his mother Pamela had her computer hacked and lost thousands to scammers.
Speaking on his KIIS FM radio show, The Kyle and Jackie O Show, Sandilands, 53, shared what happened to his mother, and explained a message popped up on her computer – which he believes the hackers slowed down – claiming to be from "Microsoft security".
The message told her to 'click' on it if she was having problems with her computer, which she was, and the scammer impersonated someone from Microsoft and claimed to be helping her.
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Kyle Sandilands reveals his mother Pam was scammed out of thousands as he issues warning to listeners. KIIS FM/Instagram
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The scammer urged her to go out and buy $2,000 in Apple gift cards, he said IGA had a policy that she could only buy $1,000 at a time, which was all part of their elaborate plan.
After she had given them access to her computer, they gained access to her bank accounts.
Sandilands, who recently revealed his double aneurysm health scare, said his mother is 75, and the hackers and scammers were convincing.
"I rang mum and she said, 'I've done something silly'. I love her... but she's hasn't been used to doing a lot of her own stuff... she said, 'I think I've been scammed'. The dread ran through me," Sandilands explained on air to co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson.
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Kyle is pictured in a throwback photo with his mother Pam and brother. ABC
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"Her computer had been playing up for a few days, slowing down, she had to turn it off and restart it and was on the phone, she said something popped up on the screen that said it was Microsoft security and it said, 'click here if you have problems as you have been targeted by a group of hackers'..." he continued.
''[She] clicked onto it and next minute she's chatting to some [fake] Microsoft [worker]... really a scammer."
She gave him access to her computer, thinking he and his team were helping her and actually from Microsoft.
Pam had a message on her computer claiming to be from "Microsoft security". The Kyle & Jackie O Show
"He said, 'listen Pamela, I must get someone else to ring you... this is a dangerous situation, there's seven hackers in your computer right now accessing personal information,'" he said.
"Mum went into panic, of course, she's 75."
Sandilands explained the hacker asked his mum to be part of a "sting operation" to "bring the hackers down while they're live on your computer to stop you and other people getting scammed" and asked her to go get the gift cards.
When she came back with $1,000 of Apple gift cards, he said the scammer wanted to her to go and buy more Amazon gift cards.
"They are the lowest of the low doing that to someone," Jackie O said. Kyle and Jackie O Show
Soon, she shut off her computer as she was heading out, but the hackers accessed her bank account.
"Unfortunately they got into her bank account, she's lost her some money there... Commonwealth bank shut it down. Mum was very embarrassed," Sandilands said.
Co-host Henderson slammed the hackers and their elaborate ploy, saying: "They are the lowest of the low doing that to someone."
Sandilands added his mother now has his security team helping her with her computer and phone and that unfortunately, she was unable to return the Apple gift cards.
"I felt for mum," he said.
Gift card scams are not uncommon. Other scams include parcel delivery scams and ''hi mum" texts which impersonate family members.
A National Anti-Scam Centre spokesperson said in a statement to 9honey that scams cost "Australians billions of dollars each year".
"Whether it's fake emails, unexpected phone calls or online schemes, scammers always find new ways to gain your trust and steal your money or personal information.
"One of the major warnings signs is that scammers ask you to pay in unusual or specific ways.
"If a person asks you to pay with preloaded debit cards, Apple gift cards, or virtual currency like Bitcoin, chances are it's a scam. Once this money is spent, you can't get it back."
They encouraged people to report the scams in a bid to help others.
You can report a scam or read through recent scam alerts here: ScamWatch.
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