HSBC UK, along with the rest of the international banking sector, is under significant pressure to tackle the issue on online fraud. Online fraud costs the UK £10.9bn per year and is cited as a key concern of consumers. Yet the typical consumer’s understanding of the increasingly sophisticated methods being used by fraudsters is low. With fraud dramatically peaking in the run-up to Christmas, HSBC UK needed to engage and educate consumers on the issue.

The key challenge was to highlight the increasing sophistication of online fraudsters while avoiding accusations of scaremongering. Driving awareness of the issue through social media was critical to reach consumers online but capturing attention through social is challenging at the best of times, let alone when trying to drive awareness of an issue most consumers would prefer not to think about. Especially when their mind is focussed on scooping up bargains in time for Christmas.

It’s harder than ever to know if someone really is who they say they are, online. We paired ‘deep fake’ style technology with a much-loved celebrity to prove it. And we used one of the most trustworthy UK celebrities of them all. Rachel Riley is a national treasure, famed for her extraordinary maths prowess on daytime TV show Countdown. Yet in the run-up to Cyber Monday, a video appeared on social channels where she confessed to being “bad at maths” and having the answers fed via earpiece.

24 hours later, after the inevitable explosion of attention, HSBC reassured the nation that this had been a ‘deep fake’ style video to make an important point at a time when British consumers are vulnerable. Every viewer was retargeted with educational videos from Rachel to help them stay safe, next time they were online.

We identified Cyber Monday as the highest risk moment - a time when consumers drop their guard in haste to pick up a great deal. Consumers also have an outdated model of fraud, where scams look fake - phishing emails littered with spelling mistakes. In the heart of the frenzy, we needed an idea that would grab attention, demonstrate the sophistication of fraudsters and educate consumers on how to stay safe online.

If there’s someone the Cyber Monday online shopper trusts online, it is the celebrity. Our audience lives in a world that blurs the line between celebrity and retail, where those they follow directly influence their buying behaviours. We'd tap the world of celebrity to prove that absolutely anyone might not be who they say they are. Then we would use retargeting promoted social posts to continue their education, the next times they're online.

On 24th November, the start of Christmas fraud ‘primetime’, with Rachel’s blessing, we used her Twitter and Instagram channels to post the surprising confession video. Fans immediately jumped on the confession, leading to widespread speculation. We protected the authenticity of the confession allowing the post to live organically – a strategy which paid off as the consternation of Rachel’s followers ignited mainstream interest in the confession.

After a nail-biting 24 hours, HSBC revealed all. On Sunday 26th November, the eve of Cyber Monday, a video was posted to their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels showing how we had used ‘deep fake’ style technology – tracking and manipulating facial movements and syncing with a vocal impressionist – in order to alert consumers to the very real dangers of digital fraud.

Through retargeting, viewers received tips on how to stay secure the next time they're online.

Rachel’s ‘Confession’ secured 52,000 views in the first 30 minutes alone. So far, its had over 691,000 organic views. The reveal video generated over 5.2 million views on HSBC UK channels (Facebook & Twitter) and an additional 110,000 organic views on Rachel’s Instagram channel. While the educational videos generated over 7.2 million video views on HSBC UK channels.

The reveal video is the most retweeted post by HSBC ever and was the top tweet in Twitter’s Cyber Monday trend. The campaign created over 88 million social impressions and started over 2,400 conversations on Twitter alone. It generated national and global news coverage with a reach of 364 million; national hits included the Daily Express, the Daily Mail and Independent, Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch and Irish morning TV show Ireland AM in the UK - plus a surprising level of attention in the Deep Fake from Russian media.