Sverker Olofsson rages against the banks after elderly fraud

Last year, criminals swindled 708 million kroner just by telephone fraud, according to the police. At the same time, the underreporting is believed to be huge, because many refrain from reporting due to feelings of guilt and shame.

Sverker Olofsson, who was previously the host of the SVT program Plus, has joined the debate about the banks’ responsibility.

– The day you transfer the responsibility to the banks, so they can show off these 708 million, then it will be corrected as quickly as a crocodile blinks. It’s going to go crazy fast. That’s what you have to do, he says.

Published discussion article

This week, Sverker Olofsson published a debate article in Swedish daily newspaper together with the journalist Anders Andersson. There they write, among other things: Where is the banks’ responsibility? Where is society’s responsibility? Where is the will to protect the weakest citizens?

– We know that those who are usually affected by this are the fragile in society, the really weak who need society’s support and help more than others. It’s the older people, my generation and up, says Sverker Olofsson.

“I don’t think politics will fix this”

The government summoned both the banks and the police at the beginning of February. The purpose of the meeting was to find out how the banks can take greater responsibility in the current situation, as well as how the cooperation between the banks and the police can be strengthened.

Sverker Olofsson does not believe that the solution to the problem will come from politics. He sees another solution in front of him.

– I don’t think politics will fix this, even though it should already be fixed. I think that there is a need for strong opinion formation. You have to understand how vulnerable the most vulnerable groups are. Strong opinion formation is what will bring results, he says.

Researcher: Not a new phenomenon

Marcus Nohlberg, is an expert and researcher in cyber security at the University of Skövde. He means that the problems we see today have been discussed for fifteen years and that the first articles on the subject began to be written as early as 2008. He points out that the banks have great resources and skilled staff who work to prevent various forms of fraud, but he does not know why measures have not been taken.

– In principle, it has been said that it is your responsibility if you are cheated. That is what is so brutal, because the banks have forced upon us the function of being able to send all our money to a stranger in 30 seconds, around the clock, wherever you are in the world. I don’t know anyone who has gone to the bank and asked for that function, says Marcus Nohlberg.

He is also careful to point out that it is not only the elderly who are deceived.

– It’s not just old people. Everyone can be exposed. Right now it’s the elderly who are affected by this, but we can all be deceived. The elderly are just more vulnerable now. This is a national problem. Right now it’s older, but the more we push that it’s only “poor older people” who make mistakes, the more the rest of us get a false sense of security.

Sverker Olofsson about the fear of the phone

Sverker Olofsson believes that technological development is an underlying reason why fraud, and above all fraud against the elderly, is increasing in society. He is afraid that it will have further negative consequences. He himself is affected in everyday life, and is reluctant to answer unknown numbers when the phone rings.

– It can be devastating. You may miss important calls. From healthcare, or from good friends. Opportunity to have fun with friends. You don’t dare answer, and I actually think it’s quite common, he says.

Furthermore, he points out that the whole society has given the banks a lot of trust in managing our money. He thinks that the least one can ask for is that they should be in safe hands. But that’s not the case, says Sverker Olofsson.

– It is so heartbreaking. There is also a nuance in this that those of us who are older, me and the generation that will come after me, also feel a little stupid in the head when you are deceived about things like this, he says.

Marcus Nohlberg wonders why more hasn’t happened yet, when the problem has been known for so long. According to him, the banks have money that could be used for more research and helping the vulnerable.

– They have the money, there are things to do. Maybe we shouldn’t wait month after month as people have their lives destroyed. We can start now, he says.