- Swedish celebrities are fronting a campaign to be rude to phone scammers
- The majority of Swedish phone scam victims are over 60
- Swedish police state that fraudsters collect around 5.7 billion SEK a year, over £431 million
Swedish celebrities have been hired to help the national government promote the use of profanity when dealing with telephone scammers.
The famously well-mannered Swedes are being encouraged to employ potty-mouthed responses when bothered by vishing scams and other attempts to steal money over the phone.
Swedish law enforcement states that 5.7 billion Swedish krona – £431 million or $575.3 million is stolen every year by fraudsters, many of which operate over the phone. The campaign is targeting over 60s as they are the main target for scammers.
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Targeting over 60s
Christina Schollin, Claes Elfsberg, Suzanne Reuter, and Lennart Jähkel are participating in the campaign, which aims to provide elderly Swedes with the confidence to tell phone scammers to “go away” with whatever expletives come to mind.
By aiming for the over 60 demographic, the criminals perpetuating the crimes aim to leverage feelings of trust in institutions, often posing as government agencies or banks, often initiating contact via text message.
When the target calls the number in the message, the scammers employ tried-and-tested scripts to persuade the victim of the importance of their call, applying subtle stress and panic to push them into parting with their cash.
But the campaign is more than about turning Sweden into a land of sewer-minded insults — over-60s are being educated not just in delivering a timely profanity, but also in recognizing when they are being scammed. With the new campaign, swearing is merely one option. Being confident to simply hang up, or tell a fake cop scammer to go away, are both good alternatives.
Don’t be fooled
The notion of being rude to a stranger on the phone is not one that comes naturally to the Swedish people, which is why the campaign has been launched with well-known celebrities. Actress Christina Schollin, journalist Claes Elfsberg, actor Lennart Jähkel, are three of the famous faces, and all have one thing in common; like the key demographic of scam victims, they are over 60.
Swedish comedian and actress Suzanne Reuter is the first to feature, and says “I’m in the police campaign because it’s a terrible crime that affects so many people. If I can use my voice to help someone not be fooled, then I want to do it. Many of us are raised to always be polite and accommodating, and there are many of my generation. But today you have to dare to be a little more questioning.”
She adds: “It’s not nasty – it’s self-protection.”
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