A UAE bank has been praised after it took an unorthodox approach to warning customers of the dangers of online fraud.
Emirates NBD, in partnership with Dubai Police, has recorded a song and music video, to the tune of Shaggy's song It Wasn't Me, but with adapted lyrics to emphasise the importance of keeping personal details safe.
It sees a rapping bank manager, who even adopts Shaggy’s Jamaican accent, repeating ‘it wasn’t me’ in response to a customer who has been duped by fraudsters pretending to be from his bank.
The chorus sees the victim of fraud, playing the role of Shaggy’s collaborator RikRok in the song, repeat phrases such as “he messaged me on WhatsApp” and “he told me I won the lottery”. To each statement, the bank manager responds “it wasn’t me”.
Viewers have reacted overwhelmingly positively to the two-minute video, which was released on Thursday evening.
“Lovely way to convey a very important message,” Sameer Ahmed, who lives in Dubai, wrote on Facebook. Responding on YouTube, Vivek Bharti, from Abu Dhabi, wrote: "Emirates NBD does advertising in [the] coolest way. This awareness video conveys a message with a swag. Thumbs up!”
Others described the post as “creative and hilarious” with the performance of the bank manager proving particularly popular.
In a statement, Emirates NBD said the video highlighted “all the things a bank won’t ask, but a fraudster will.”
It said: “Our latest film “It Wasn’t Me”, in collaboration with Dubai Police, gives you the do’s and don’ts of keeping your identity and account secure at all times.”
It Wasn't Me, released in July 2000, proved one of Shaggy's biggest hits, topping the charts across America, Australia and Europe.
Its lyrics tell the story of a man asking a friend what he should do after he is caught cheating in a relationship. He receives advice to deny it with the phrase ‘it wasn’t me,’ despite overwhelming evidence of guilt.
