The seven habits of highly suspicious people

James Jefferson, scammer extraordinaire, gives advice to would-be hucksters in this satirical mockumentary about how he made boucous bucks during the pandemic

Part of a new anti-phishing campaign from Emirates NBD, How to Grow Rich During The Pandemic follows James Jefferson’s daily life as he imitates the immigration department, the police, your bank, and he needs your account information to update the system. By exploiting people’s confusion, anger, and even fear, Jefferson rakes in the cash...until it all catches up with him, in a final Scarface showdown raid on his property. The music is apt as well: Thieving Magpie, by Rossini.

After the agency realized that scam calls more than doubled during the pandemic, they set about creating the fictional Jefferson, whose actor is clearly having a blast throughout the spot, channeling a Ricky Gervaise abrasiveness in his delivery. Commenting on the campaign, Rafael Augusto, Executive Creative Director, Leo Burnett Dubai said, “We used dark humour to tell the story of a heartless fraudster who mocks the misery of his victims before his greed and ego eventually lead to his downfall.” The spot was directed by Nalle Sjoblad and produced by Deja Vu.