NSF Convergence Accelerator Track F: Online Deception Awareness and Resilience Training (DART)

As one of the most vexing problems of the century, we are witnessing the escalating speed, scale, and level of sophistication of online deception (spear phishing and catfishing scams, personal information hunting schemes, fake content, impersonation, and disinformation on social media) that have severe consequences (ransomware attack, financial loss, and breach of private information). The most vulnerable demographic is older adults, who are disproportionately targeted for online exploitation, manipulation, and fraud resulting in significant financial loss and emotional distress.

Deception Awareness and Resilience Training (DART) aims to equip older adults with the tools they need to recognize various forms of online deception and help others in their social circle avoid or mitigate harm. Designed by experts in education, psychology, communication, cybersecurity, and media studies, the DART curriculum contains high-quality and timely synthetic contents and real-world scenarios.

The DART project team includes experts in psychology, communications and media, economics, cybersecurity, computer science, game design, synthetic media, and aging studies. DART deliverables will be developed by a professional development team and tested with older adults.

The DART system consists of two complementary components: (1) DART Learn: a web-based structured, dynamic, and self-paced learning program on online deceptions. (2) DART Practice: an interactive social media simulation that provides a safe and realistic platform for the users to practice what they learned about online deception. (3) DART Play: a set of simple, fun mobile Games on mobile platforms (iOS and Android) designed to familiarize older adults with common deceptions.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.