Dark Energy Films' David Stoddart Shoots Identity Fraud Stunt for CIFAS

Dark Energy Films' David Stoddart recently shot an online film entitled ‘Data To Go’ for Cifas, the UK’s leading fraud prevention service.

In 2015 just under 24,000 people aged 30 and under were victims of identity fraud, with the figures more than doubling since 2010. The film has launched online to raise awareness of this type of fraud.

Shot in a London coffee shop in March earlier this year, David used hidden cameras to capture baffled reactions from people caught in a stunt where their personal data, all found on public websites, is revealed to them live on a coffee cup.With the promise of a free coffee and a croissant, participants were asked to ‘like’ the café’s Facebook page. A team of background researchers, within a maximum time period of three minutes, searched across public websites to find as much personal information and data as possible. That data was then radioed through to a barista, who wrote it on to a cup and handed it to the unsuspecting customer. Hidden cameras captured their ‘baffled’ reactions and the film ends with the line ‘Don’t make it easy for fraudsters. Set your privacy settings’.

The film was shot through agency BBH as part of their Creativity For Good scheme and launched on Facebook and social media channels this week as well as living on the Cifas home page.