When we discovered that people are simply too embarrassed to report that they’ve fallen for a scam, we knew there was a job to be done to get more people talking about the issue. With a third of all fraud cases being swept under the carpet by victims, we had our work cut out for us …
So, we worked with Barclays to launch the Embarrassing Fraud Clinic.
In a touring van visiting London, Manchester and Glasgow, the clinics provided the public with free access to a wealth of information and knowledge. Expert advice and support were doled out by Jenny Radcliffe, a “people hacker” and Julie Clegg, former Detective and Intelligence Expert on Channel 4’s TV Show ‘Hunted’ – alongside a Barclays Digital Eagle. Visitors could even get a ‘digital health check’ to find out how vulnerable they really were to hackers.
The clinic was visited by hundreds of people to discuss fraud, at a time when our research showed that a third of all UK adults have now been defrauded but the average victim won’t report it unless they lose over £235. That’s a huge amount of stolen cash going undetected across the nation.
So what did the coverage look like?
Launching the campaign alongside the news that Barclays became the first UK high street bank to introduce a new online fraud intervention service to its online banking system, the media lapped it up.
With nationals covering the story no fewer than sixteen times, stand out pieces in print included the i, Daily Express (twice), Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and The Sunday Post. Online also saw a raft of pieces, including Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, (twice), Daily Telegraph, The Sun, Daily Express (three times) with a host of regionals also getting in on the action.
A far from embarrassing result!
