"Daad, can we go to the beach at the weekend?"
"I'm not sure, I'm going to be super sleepy after a night shift."
"Come ooon Daad. You can sleep on the nice comfy sand and relax, whilst we play. Mummy can watch us. Easy."
"Go on then."
"And ice cream?" - with the biggest grin, you've ever seen.
I think we all know what the answer to that question was. It seems children are pretty well equipt at pulling ticks and using the power of persuasion to get their own way. Like kids, financial fraud never takes a day off so when our own little rascals are playing tricks to get their own way the FFA UK is encouraging all men to be on alert during father's day - the best fraudsters strike when your guard is down.
Financial Fraud Action UK are a leading charity for combatting financial fraud and with their new research, it shows that men believe they are least likely to fall victim to financial fraud each year. Which in my eye's is a little worrying, apparently 66% of British men feel it will never happen to them as they're "too confident in handling their money" - crikey, I wish I could have this confidence!
So, for a bit of fun and of course to show Dad's they're not so self-assured a poll of a sample of 1,000 children aged 6-12 years to show how easily Dads can be tricked by their children.
The top five ways our mini masters manipulate their dads are:
1. Smiling sweetly (41%)
2. Offering a hug (40%)
3. Saying please and thank you (35%)
4. Trying to make Dad laugh (20%)
5. Saying they’ve done well at school (15%)
The data also revealed some of the watchwords which kids use when trying to get their own way are including “Don't worry Dad it's fine, I always do it” and “all my friend to it all the time”. Now I have to say, when I was a kid of was a mini master of manipulation. My biggest moment was when I was around 12-13 and I was at my Dads for the weekend. I floated the idea of getting my belly button pierced and claimed that mom was cool with it. So I got my belly button pierced. You can only imagine what happened next. Dad was in the bad books, it's a good job they have an amazing relationship as a divorced couple!
This Father’s Day the FFA are asking Dads to take five – to take that moment – to pause and think before they respond to any financial requests and share any personal or financial details. I've been almost caught out before with someone claiming to be my Bank asking for all sorts of details - and they kept calling! It was pretty annoying, but I can see how people can easily fall for their tricks. You certainly start to doubt yourself.
Having a chat with Darcie, I asked her how we can stop naughty people from tricking us and her response was, "That's easy the police!"
I hope you've enjoyed this post and keep in mind the FFA UK's advice this Fathers Day and beyond.
Mummy B xoxox
*Post in collaboration with Financial Fraud Action UK
