Digital Detectives – Designing Tools to Outsmart Scammers

Financial scams are getting smarter every day—fake bank calls, phishing emails, investment traps, and social media “giveaway” cons. Scammers don’t just rely on technology; they exploit human tendencies—curiosity, fear, urgency, and trust. In this project, you’ll become a scam detective and engineer rolled into one. First, you’ll investigate how scams work: What tricks do scammers use? What vulnerabilities do they target? Why do people fall for them? Then, you’ll turn your insights into a simple, user-friendly digital tool or app that helps people spot, avoid, and block these traps. Your solution could be a scam-alert app, a “safe checklist” before sending money, a chatbot that helps verify messages, or a browser add-on that flags suspicious links. It doesn’t need to be fully coded—students will create wireframes, clickable mock-ups, and low-code prototypes that clearly show how the tool works.