PAM Ayres and performance poet Suli Breaks have joined forces with Santander to turn the tables on fraudsters and highlight the dangers of investment scams ahead of National Poetry Day tomorrow.

Santander, which is based in Bradford, challenged the poets to turn financial crimes into rhymes in their ‘Scam Sonnets’ to help the public spot the signs of investment scams – which is when a scammer offers a fake but convincing opportunity to make a profit by handing over a sum of money.

Pam Ayres’ Have you got some money? and Suli Breaks’ Too good to be true incorporate words and phrases from real scam emails, online adverts and telephone calls received by investment scam victims.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

A new study of 2,000 British adults commissioned by Santander reveals that only 4 in 10 Brits said they know what an investment scam is. But a quarter (25%) of Brits have been affected or know someone who has been affected by an investment scam, with £10,000 lost on average.

In the wake of the outbreak of Covid-19 many people are feeling financially vulnerable and investment scams are on the rise. £55.2 million was lost to investment scams in the UK in the first six months of 2020 – a 27% increase compared to the same period last year.

Investment scammers most commonly target over 55s, who are preparing for retirement and want to see their savings and pensions go further, with the promise of high returns – with Santander reporting that 75% of the value of investment fraud has been aimed at customers over 55.

Santander’s research reveals that on average, Brits aged 55 and over report being contacted at least once a week by what they believe to be financial scammers, with the most common approach being by email (71%), followed by 40% who receive unsolicited phone calls.

Almost half (49%) of Brits say they would rely on researching an investment firm online to# confirm their validity, which scam artists take advantage of by creating professional looking websites and even cloning the webpages of legitimate companies.

Excerpt from Have you got some money?, by Pam Ayres

Have you got some money?  Are you getting on, like me?

Are you heading for retirement? Being wild and free?

Are you looking for investments? Somewhere canny for your cash?

Be careful.  There are fraudsters who will steal it in a flash.

They are thieving people’s savings, taking everything they’ve got.

Especially the older folk who’ve got a pension pot,

They do not stalk the foolish, no, that isn’t what they do,

They target able, well-researched investors. Just like you.

Known to many as ‘the people’s poet’, Pam Ayres has authored several best-selling poetry collections, taken her one-woman stage show on a global tour and makes regular appearances on TV and radio shows.

Highlighting the risks of cryptocurrency scams No longer relying on cold-calling, fraudsters use increasingly sophisticated tactics to persuade victims to invest in bogus opportunities. Tactics used include impersonating credible investment firms and using social media to target potential investors and promote fake online cryptocurrency trading platforms.

With Santander reporting a 235% increase in the value of cryptocurrency scams disclosed to the high street bank between Jan – July 2020, almost a third (31%) of 35-54 year olds report being targeted with financial scams online and on social media channels, Scammers are also increasingly relying on fake celebrity and influencer endorsements to convince people to invest, with 41% of Brits admitting they would feel more confident about an investment opportunity if they believed it was endorsed by a famous face.

Excerpt from Too good to be true

You see investment scams, ain’t as simple, as something, you just dismiss in a pop-up window. 

It’s a voice that sounds professional, a tone that’s mildly personal

A well-presented, well-edited article 

A picture of someone recognisable

Combined with words that pull the trigger on the response that’s emotional 

That's how they find their target!

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

London-based performance poet Suli Breaks (pictured above) gained national recognition when his spoken word poem Why I Hate School but Love Education went viral – garnering 2 million views in just 3 days on YouTube.

With over a quarter of Brits (29%) reporting either a partial or total loss of earnings since the outbreak Covid-19, Santander – who reported a peak in the value of investment scams reports it received in May 2020 – warns savers hit by the economic impact of the outbreak are more vulnerable to falling victim to scammers offering unrealistically high rates of return for small investments.

A concerning 27% of Brits have also reported being more heavily targeted since the outbreak of Covid-19.

Thinking about investing? Remember: • Use the FCA’s online ScamSmart tool to help check investment opportunities • Use the FCA Register to check that a genuine investment firm hasn’t been cloned • Don’t be rushed – pressure or offers that seem too good to be true are warning signs