Bancontact Company – Driving awareness of teenagers’ vulnerability to payment scams
Challenging the assumption that teenagers are not necessarily better equipped to recognise payment scams than older generations.
As a key player in Belgium’s digital payments ecosystem, Bancontact Company wanted to raise awareness around an increasingly relevant issue: payment fraud, and help consumers adopt safer reflexes. To support this ambition with concrete insights, we conducted a first-of-its-kind survey with iVOX that compared the attitudes, behaviours and vulnerabilities of teenagers and adults when faced with payment scams. The results revealed an unexpected insight: young people are not necessarily better equipped to spot fraud, and can be particularly vulnerable in digital environments.
Our approach:
- Designing a survey around real-life fraud scenarios: To generate insights that would resonate beyond abstract statistics, we developed the survey around concrete situations people could recognise, such as suspicious links, fake bank messages, online shopping scams, social media content and trust-based fraud.
- Creating a strong awareness angle: We used the survey findings to challenge a common perception: that payment fraud mainly affects older generations. By showing that teenagers also face clear risks, the campaign brought a fresh and relevant perspective to the topic.
- Targeted media outreach: We pitched the story to relevant journalists across national, public-interest and consumer media, inviting them to discover the survey findings during a dedicated education session on payment fraud and youth vulnerability.
- Positioning Bancontact Company as a trusted voice in safer payments: Together with the company’s tech experts, we linked the survey findings to Bancontact Company’s mission of safer digital payments and highlighted the initiatives taken to better protect consumers.
Our results:
The campaign generated strong media attention and contributed to a broader conversation about payment fraud and the need for stronger awareness among young people.
- In total, the campaign secured 23 clippings, including 17 online articles, 5 print articles and 1 radio mention.
- The story was picked up by leading Belgian media including De Tijd, Het Laatste Nieuws, Sudinfo and La Libre, with La Libre featuring the topic on its front page.
- The coverage reached an estimated 7,517,739 people, with an estimated advertising value equivalent of €544,597.
Beyond the numbers, the campaign delivered high-quality coverage of an important societal issue closely connected to Bancontact Company’s mission: helping consumers in Belgium pay in a simple, safe and trusted way.
At Brum Smith, we help trusted Belgian players bring important issues to the public’s attention.
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