NEW YORK -- With the holiday season in full swing, Zelle® today announced the return of its Scam and Fraud Elimination (S.A.F.E.) Squad campaign featuring actor and producer, Christina Ricci. In its second year, S.A.F.E. Squad is a content series developed in partnership with Vox Creative, Vox Media’s award-winning branded content studio.
Ricci stars as the leader of a group of detectives fighting financial crime thanks to her seasoned background spotlighting sinister stories.
The new campaign comes as Americans are facing an increasing threat of scam and fraud from tech-savvy financial criminals. But just as criminals are evolving, so are Christina Ricci’s advocacy and the S.A.F.E. Squad campaign. While last year’s campaign found the detectives fighting imposter scams, this year they are unravelling more complex crimes perpetrated by sophisticated and organized offenders.
With the support of their new Fin-Crime Lab, the S.A.F.E. Squad takes down criminal syndicates weaponizing tools like generative AI to commit fraud at a previously unimaginable scale. As technology evolves and criminals find new ways to exploit Americans’ good intentions, here are top tips to stay one step ahead:
- Steer clear of any phishing scams or emails. If you see spelling errors, broken links, or a faulty website or email encouraging you to instantly send your money – that’s a sign that something isn’t right.
- Update your security settings to enable multi-factor authentication which is a second step to verify that you are who you say you are.
- If you’re feeling pressure to act urgently, consider that a red flag!
“As an actor and producer, I’ve been drawn to the true crime genre. People love examining why criminals take certain actions and want to learn as much as possible to stay one step ahead,” Ricci said. “That’s why I’m proud to continue to be the face of the S.A.F.E. Squad content series with Zelle®, and to spotlight stories that showcase the financial crime ecosystem and to educate people about better spotting red flags and to help keep their money safe.”
Zelle® is passionate about educating consumers through the S.A.F.E. Squad content series as it showcases the breadth of financial scams and how they are constantly evolving. Often pressured to move quickly, or guilt-ridden that there is an emergency related to a loved one, victims end up falling prey to criminals. Because of this, Zelle® is constantly innovating and evolving to outsmart the scammers. For example, in 2023, 99.95% of Zelle® payments were sent without a report of scam or fraud.
“Zelle® fills a vital need for millions of Americans,” said Andrea Gilman, chief marketing officer, Early Warning Services. “Consumers and small businesses alike benefit from the reliability, speed, and security that Zelle® offers when paying people they know and trust. By teaming up with the incredible talent of Christina Ricci we hope to educate as many people as possible about payment safety during the holidays and beyond.
To learn more about the S.A.F.E. Squad, the scam and fraud research report, and the extensive consumer safety education efforts by Zelle®, visit: www.vox.com/safesquadhq.
About Zelle®
Zelle® is transforming how money moves, with more than five billion digital payments sent since its launch in 2017. The Zelle® network connects over 2,200 banks and credit unions of all sizes, enabling consumers and businesses to send digital payments to people and businesses they know and trust with an eligible bank account in the U.S. Money is available directly in bank accounts generally within minutes when the recipient is already enrolled with Zelle®. To learn more about Zelle® and participating financial institutions in the Zelle® network, visit www.zellepay.com.
Zelle® and the Zelle® related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license.
###