Santander opens invisible cinema to fight fraud

 

Santander have given the words   ‘invisible cinema’ a new meaning with the unveiling of an innovative cinema screen, projecting films that are completely invisible to the naked eye and can only be seen through a special pair of glasses.

Santander wanted to find a way to educate and underline to young adults the importance of keeping banking and personal data to themselves to avoid falling victim to scammers.

The innovative screen will be delivering several ‘invisible cinema’ experiences, entitled “For Your Eyes Alone” across the UK over the next few months, touring Universities around the UK. Each event is completely free to attend and aims to be a fun and memorable way for under 25s to learn about the dangers of over-sharing.

Officially launching the campaign is Love Island finalist, and 20-year-old social media fan, Wes Nelson. Wes can be seen giving his scam advice in an ‘invisible’ trailer which will be shown on the invisible cinema screen at all of the cinema experiences. Wes will warn audience members of the dangers that can come from sharing confidential and personal information before audiences sit back and watch the movie ‘Now You See Me’.

Wes Nelson comments: “I think it’s really important to raise awareness of scams and fraud among people my age. Scammers are so savvy these days and it’s scary to see what information they can get hold of and use to trick you with.  If you ‘get a text’ make sure its genuine, and don’t become a member of this DBS club (Don’t Be Silly) by sharing your personal and security information – you don’t know what kind of trouble it could get you in to!”

To make the screen, Santander teamed up with technology specialists to remove the polarisation filters from dozens of high-definition LCD screens which makes the screens appear completely blank to the naked eye. The polarisation filters were then used as the lenses for viewing glasses which make the cinema screen magically appear.

According to research carried out by Santander to understand the behaviours of 18 – 24 year olds, more than four in ten (42 per cent) have shared their online banking passwords and 85 per cent have shared details on social media that could help build a personal profile exploitable by scammers. Almost two thirds (64 per cent) of under 25s have been approached by scammers and one in five (20 per cent) have fallen victim to their scams.

Chris Ainsley, Head of Fraud Strategy at Santander said: “Today’s under 25s have grown up online and spend a great deal of time using devices and social media. However it’s evident that one of the pitfalls of their online lifestyles is a culture of over sharing and being careless with sensitive information – and this is leaving them highly vulnerable to scams and fraud.

“Our invisible cinema events are an innovative and entertaining way of raising awareness among this age group of the importance of keeping online banking details, passwords and personal information completely secret and for their eyes alone.”

Delving further into the research by Santander UK, the results suggest:

• Around 86 per cent of U25s do their banking online and of these, over four in ten have shared their online passwords;
• Several social media sites have the option for users to increase their privacy and security settings – only half of 18-24 year-olds check and update these regularly;
• Over two thirds of U25s have made themselves even more vulnerable by using unsecured WiFi networks to access sites requiring passwords, carry personal data or are used to make financial transactions;
• Four in ten (39 per cent) of those questioned would provide personal and security detail to somebody phoning up claiming to be from their bank;
• Six per cent of those surveyed would allow someone remote access to their bank account; and
• Over half (52 per cent) of under 25s believe they have been approached by scammers on social media, while seven in ten (71 per cent) have been approached via email.

Santander is also working in partnership with Barnardo’s to ensure that each event is open to a wider range of young people in the area.

Barnardo’s chief executive, Javed Khan said: “Barnardo’s supports some of the most vulnerable young people, including care leavers, to learn how to keep their financial information safe, alongside other valuable life skills.

“We really welcome Santander’s Invisible Cinema events, which will help young people we support and many others to understand the importance of keeping passwords secret and avoiding fraud.”

The first experiences will take place at Westminster, Brighton, Exeter, UCL and Sheffield Hallam universities.