Dr Ottilie Brandt
social psychologist
Insightful about why clever people are fooled
The Persuaders
His daughter notices before he does. Together they unpick how the scam works, try to recover the money and face the shame that keeps victims silent — while the scammers return with a “recovery service” that is a second scam.
Planned · not started yet
Money & personal finance Money under pressure Ethics & integrity Living with uncertainty Family home Tense Bracing
The premise
His daughter notices before he does. Together they unpick how the scam works, try to recover the money and face the shame that keeps victims silent — while the scammers return with a “recovery service” that is a second scam.
The protagonist
Frank Delaney — Retired surveyor three payments into a “guaranteed” crypto scheme
The council
Every council member is an original fictional character. None represents, quotes or is endorsed by a real person.
DS Kamal Rashid
fraud investigator
Direct; report early, money moves fast
Yvonne Achterfeld
consumer-protection officer
Practical; knows the reimbursement rules
How the story moves
Unpicking the scam while the scammers return; Frank’s shame turns into usefulness when he helps a neighbour avoid the same trap.
What readers take away
- Persuasion techniques used by scammers
- Investment-fraud warning signs
- Authorised push-payment fraud and reimbursement rules
- Reporting routes and what each does
- Recovery scams
- Protecting older relatives without taking control
- Romance and impersonation scams
- Rebuilding confidence after fraud
- Verify a firm on the regulator’s register
- Use a bank’s confirmation-of-payee and delay features
- Report to the right bodies in the right order
- Support a victim without blaming
The books
- 1The scheme Planned
- 2The reports Planned
- 3The recovery offer Planned
- 4After Planned
Book titles are working titles and may change before publication. No book is on sale until the complete series is finished, checked and released.