Our bright pink fraud-fighting mascot is back to duel with scammers in Derbyshire – and this time, he has a giant in his corner.
Sock It to the Scammers is an innovative campaign led by us, throwing the spotlight on the sophisticated tactics fraudsters will use to trick you out of your money.
It’s fronted by a goofy sock puppet called Claude, who pops up in a series of videos just as someone is about to be scammed.
His mission is simple: to halt the surge in fraud across Derbyshire by sharing safety messages, tips, and the tell-tale techniques that a scammer will use.
Investment fraud is a real issue – last month alone, victims in our county lost more than £1.1m to this type of scam.
To help spread the message far and wide, we’ve enlisted the help of Derbyshire’s own Jamie Christian, who stars as Giant on the smash-hit BBC gameshow Gladiators.
And by starring in the first of our new campaign videos, launching today to tie in with National Scams Awareness Week, the 6ft 5ins bodybuilder proves that no one is too strong to be targeted by fraudsters.
Jamie said: “Shooting the video was a lot of fun – and I have to admit, a bit bizarre at times! But there is a really serious message behind it and that’s why I was keen to be involved.
“It was an extremely eye-opening experience for me. I’ve always been cautious whenever I get an unexpected phone call or an email but I didn’t realise just how clever and committed fraudsters can be.
“It’s easy to think of fraud as just an email in your inbox asking you for your bank details but what this campaign shows is that there’s so much more to it than that – and that scammers will take the time to get to know you and earn your trust before they take your money.
“Thankfully in the video, my character is saved by Claude, but in reality people will face fraudsters without that intervention and that’s why the campaign is so important in showing them the signs to look out for.”
In our video, Jamie is working in his gym when he is contacted over the phone by a so-called cryptocurrency expert.
He’s bombarded with promises of massive returns if he quickly invests a few hundred pounds in a new cryptocurrency coin.
The scammer waves away Jamie’s hesitation and pressures him to act fast to make as much money as possible.
And it almost works – until our bright pink sock puppet Claude bursts out of a tub of protein powder and delivers one simple warning: stop, and think ‘fraud’.
Claude then tells Jamie how crypto fraudsters promise huge returns for small initial investments, using buzzwords, legit-looking websites, and high-pressure sales techniques to convince people to part with their money.
Before long, they ask for another small investment, then a bit more, and more again, until the target of the fraud ends up sending tens of thousands of pounds. The crypto scammer then vanishes.
Sadly, investment scams are constantly on the rise. One Derbyshire victim alone lost more than £20,000 to a fraudster using exactly the same technique as shown in our video.
Tammy Barnes, our dedicated fraud protect officer, said: “The criminals behind many of the scams that we see in Derbyshire are extremely professional and well-rehearsed. They know how to control and manipulate people into acting in ways they wouldn’t normally so they can get what they want.
“When it comes to investment fraud, the scammers will often take time to get to know their victim and will communicate with them regularly to build trust. Throughout this they will get to know what means the most to a victim and then use this to manipulate them, applying pressure and making the victim believe they’re actually doing them a favour.
“So many of the people we deal with never thought they’d become victim to one of these scams but it’s important to realise just how accomplished the criminals behind them are at gaining your trust and convincing you that they are genuine.”
Over the next few months, we will be focusing on fraud across our social media channels, where Claude will keep popping up to reiterate the message: Stop! Think fraud.
