Get Safe Online Week 2010

Summary

The Challenge

Internet fraud costs the UK economy £1.2 billion a year and accounts for a cash flow to criminals of £10m per day (Home Office Cyber Crime Strategy Report, March 2010). Fraudsters continue to create new and inventive ways to deceive web users or misuse their information. However, since Get Safe Online’s inception in 2005, the core issues have remained constant – identity theft, scams and malicious software are at the heart of every trick. The media space is saturated, with technology vendors, banks and financial organizations, charities and NGOs all competing for share of voice.

The challenge was to cut through all of this competitive noise and give the media a story package that, without weeks of research and the right contacts, would be impossible to develop alone.

Plus, the sixth annual Get Safe Online Week campaign had to:

consolidate GSO’s position as the UK’s trusted authority for internet security and online fraud advice
reach a broad consumer audience by securing national media coverage and engaging senior stakeholders across Government, law enforcement, and the public and private sectors
increase traffic to www.getsafeonline.org
increase consumer recognition of online risks and encourage them to act as a result, for example by taking steps to protect themselves online or report fraud

The Strategic Solution

Raising Awareness

Over the past five years, Get Safe Online has made internet users aware of the latest scams and security threats they face when going online. Today, the majority of UK adult internet users protect their computers with anti-virus and other software, and many are aware of the identify fraud risks associated with sharing information online. However, this increased public awareness has led to a notable shift in criminal tactics. Working with experts at Soca, Get Safe Online had seen a shift from scams that exploit consumer ignorance, to those that tap into people’s awareness or concern about online threats. For example, law enforcement agencies and consumer reporting centres (such as ActionFraud) have seen increased evidence of ‘rogue anti-virus’ operations, in which internet users are duped into downloading and paying for anti-virus software that is either fake or in the worst cases, actually malicious software (‘malware’) in disguise.

The core strategy devised by the agency was to focus media and public attention on this new and largely unrecognised threat as a way of:

re-engaging media and consumer interest, and possibly identify existing internet crime victims
highlighting the dangers of complacency and make a case for putting internet fraud back on the UK news agenda
demonstrating the increasingly organized nature of online crime and its threat to UK plc in order to engage Government, law enforcement, industry and public support

The Idea

Working in collaboration with one of Soca’s intelligence officers, the team developed an interactive demonstration, designed to provide a rare ‘behind the scenes’ look at malicious anti-virus operations and illustrate the lengths that organised criminal gangs will go to in order to mislead web users.

Semi-exclusive briefings with the officer at Soca headquarters were offered to top-tier broadcast and print media.

In addition, the media package also included:

evidence from a recent law enforcement court case
the choice of two ‘victim’ case studies
new consumer research on consumers experience and awareness of the scam
interviews with Tony Neate, a retired police officer and hi-tech crime specialist, now managing director of GetSafeOnline.org
insights from criminologist Dr Emily Finch at the University of Surrey

The Campaign Roll-Out

The Key Elements

The key elements of the integrated campaign included:

a comprehensive content package designed to appeal to a range of media outlets identified, researched and developed over the previous two months
semi-exclusive briefings with BBC, Daybreak (ITV), Sky, The Times, and The Mirror
plus, the story was sold into national and regional news desks across broadcast, print and online
the start to finish delivery of the sixth annual Get Safe Online Summit in central London – featuring guest speakers James Brokenshire MP, Minister for Crime Prevention (Home Office), as well as senior speakers from Soca – the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), and the National Fraud Authority
the creation and publication of the 2010 GSO State of the Nation Report, based on specially commissioned consumer research and thought leadership contributions from GSO’s partner base, including the Minister of State for Security, Microsoft and the National Fraud Authority. Launched at the Summit
fresh content for www.getsafeonline.org , including new advice on malicious anti-virus scams and daily social media content

The Results

A few numbers…

- On the morning the story broke, Action Fraud – the UK’s national fraud reporting centre and a partner of Get Safe Online – received over 60 calls from consumers concerned that they may be victims of the malicious antivirus scam; this reached over 200 by the end of the Week
- Over 150 items of coverage, including agenda-setting features on Sky News, BBC News (TV), Daybreak, BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio Five Live
- National print coverage including Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Sun, Metro, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, Evening Standard, Guardian and Independent
- 25 regional radio interviews, plus numerous regional print and online trade coverage
- Top 5 story on BBC News Online
- www.getsafeonline.org web traffic tripled during the Week, compared to a typical seven day period
- Get Safe Online Summit attended by 135 stakeholders across the public, private and voluntary sectors

What our clients say:

“The team have done an outstanding job; their knowledge, experience, professionalism and energy has been the key to the success of this year’s Get Safe Online Week. The general consensus from the sponsors and delegates at the Summit yesterday was it was the best yet. We were very concerned on Monday morning when two stories broke that could have greatly reduced our overall coverage, including the release of the Somali hostages. However the story was so strong – as a result of the tremendous effort put in by the team – we think we have had the best media coverage ever.”
- Tony Neate, managing director, Get Safe Online

Edelman’s Corporate & Financial team advises a roster of more than 60 world-class clients on the key reputation drivers affecting their business and the new behaviours of public engagement, demanded in the digital age. We’d love to work with you!