Creative Execution

After a year of development and testing Re:scam was unleashed on the world’s scammers. We first shared Re:scam with local television news and then released a video online in which Re:scam introduced itself to the world, with one simple instruction: forward scams to me@rescam.org. Within 24 hours of going live Re:scam had gone global. As hoped, Re:scam had people talking about scamming everywhere. Re:scam joined the conversation through various social media accounts which it uses to educate and update followers and influencers on scams and how to avoid them. At rescam.org people can meet the chatbot ‘faces to face'. It features our favourite conversations and updates on the amount of time the project has wasted. Through rescam.org people can connect to Netsafe for advice and victim support. With the steady flow of incoming scammer data is shared with cybercrime fighting agencies like The Police, Interpol and The FBI.

At last check, Re:scam has earned over 279 million impressions and started an ongoing global conversation around email scams. Through email correspondence and social media it continues to educate millions on the changing face of online scams. To date Re:scam has sent more than a million emails to scammers, wasting a total of more than 5 years of their time. The constant flow of data being collected on trending scams, scammer’s techniques and IP addresses is provided to national and global cybercrime agencies. As well as this, Re:scam has become a point of contact for people who are being scammed and haven't talked to authorities. These victims are all referred straight to Netsafe where they get the right advice and support.

We’ve worked closely alongside Netsafe from the beginning of the project to make use of their wealth of knowledge and data insights. We knew we needed a multifaceted weapon against scammers that disrupted their industry, engaged users, and was also educational. Anyone with internet is our target audience. From the outset we were careful not to portray any demographic as ‘typical victims’ as contrary to popular belief everyone is at risk from scammers. This is reflected in the range of personalities built into the Re:scam, and its many faces. Our call to action remains simple and consistent. Forward all scams to me@rescam.org. All other points of contact have flowed from that first action. As a false target Re:scam has increased response rates to scam emails. This turns the numbers game against scammers and damages their profits.