A woman has revealed how she was scammed out of almost $600 after she received a friend request from someone posing as Kyle Sandilands on Facebook.
Marina, from Sydney, answered a question on the official Kyle and Jackie O page before she received a response from an account claiming to be the KIISFM breakfast host.
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“There was a reply from Kyles Sandilands saying, ‘Congratulations, you’ve won $1000’,” she tells 7Lifestyle.
“They stated I was the winner and they needed my details for the prize money. I didn’t think much of it as it was a reply after my comment.”
Marina says she was asked to fill out a questionnaire.
“Firstly I was asked to answer a questionnaire which I did and at the end, it said to click for further prizes and discounts,” she says.
“So I kept going along.”
She was then asked to provide her bank details so she could claim her prize money.
When she messaged the person asking why, she was told she was going to be “charged $0.01 to activate account”.
“So I paid it,” Marina says.
She didn’t think anything was alarming until she received a phone call from her bank the following day.
“My bank called to question if I’d authorised a $89 payment and a $500 payment as the seller was overseas,” she recalls.
“I stated that ‘no I didn’t’ and then I started panicking.”
Luckily for Marina, the bank was able to refund her the money after they cancelled her card.
“I was lucky my bank contacted me. If they didn’t they would have kept taking my money out,” she says.
7Lifestyle has contacted KIISFM for comment.
The team at KIISFM has warned listeners not to fall for the scammers on Facebook.
“KIIS, Kyle and Jackie O will never ever ask you for your card details,” the team said.
“We do not need your card details to give you a prize. If you really think about it, why would we need your credit card details? It makes no sense.”
If you are a winner of a prize, you will be ask to provide basic details like your name and phone number.
“That’s it – that’s all they need,” the team said.
“You then get texted a link so it’s all through texting. That’s where you fill out other stuff but you’ll never fill out your card details – guaranteed.”
Aussies are urged to check the profile for a blue verification tick.
“Always look out for the blue tick… If there’s no tick, it’s fake,” the team said.
They added: “If there’s spelling mistakes, it’s fake. If it’s Kyle, it’s fake because Kyle is not on social media. So anyone claiming to be ‘Kyle Sandilands’, ‘Kylie Sandilands’, ‘Kyle Dalton Sandilands’ or Kyle Sandy Lands’ are not Kyle.
“Guys, do your research when you’re asked for this sensitive information… If it looks dodgy, if it looks fake, it’s probably not us.”
