Australian radio personality Bianca Dye has emotionally recounted a distressing incident in which her elderly mother, Anne, narrowly avoided being defrauded by scammers. Dye, 51, shared the ordeal to warn others about the dangers facing vulnerable people, particularly seniors.
The scammers contacted Anne, 79, pretending to be Dye herself, claiming to be using a friend’s phone. They manipulated Anne with a fabricated story, stating Dye urgently needed $3,000 to cover a tax bill. At the time, Dye was hosting her breakfast show on i98 in Wollongong, unaware of the crisis unfolding on the Gold Coast.
“When parents get older, they don’t want to bother you. She didn’t want to stress me out,” Dye explained tearfully. However, Anne’s decision to delay telling her daughter about the scam caused her great distress.
“She waited until the next day to tell me, and by then, she was in tears. She hadn’t slept at all,” Dye said.
By the time Anne called her daughter, she had been trying to transfer the money but had become confused while entering her credit card details. “She was sending text messages to a stranger,” Dye said, recalling the close call.
Dye quickly enlisted a friend to visit Anne and take her to the bank. Staff there resolved the issue, changed her PIN, and confirmed no money had been taken.
Sharing her story on social media and her radio show, Dye highlighted the rising sophistication of scams targeting seniors. Cybersecurity expert Damien Cantelo shed light on the alarming evolution of these tactics, including the use of AI-generated voice samples to mimic loved ones in convincing conversations.
Cantelo suggested families adopt a ‘safe word’ to verify the identity of callers. “If ever there’s anything suspicious, you can ask, ‘What’s the safe word?’ If they don’t know it, you hang up immediately,” he advised.
However, Dye acknowledged that such measures might not always help her mother, who is experiencing memory loss. “It’s only going to get harder for her as the scams become more intricate,” she said.
Dye’s story underscores the urgent need for increased education and support for older Australians. “It’s terrifying to think about the future for elderly people unless they have someone tech-savvy living with them,” she said.
Dye is now seeking funding for in-home support services for her mother, including assistance with cleaning, shopping, and transportation to appointments. However, the application process is lengthy, adding another layer of stress.
“They’re overwhelmed, and the system is struggling,” Dye lamented.
For those who suspect they or a loved one may have been targeted by scammers, resources like ScamWatch and IDCARE are available to provide support and advice.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of the growing challenges faced by older Australians and their families in navigating the dangers of an increasingly digital world.
