Describe the creative idea
Re:scam is an AI chatbot designed to do the one thing you
shouldn’t: reply to scams. When you forward any suspicious emails to
Re:scam, it identifies scam emails and then begins a never-ending conversation
with the scammer so they waste their time talking to a chatbot instead of real
targets. Re:scam uses IBM Watson to analyse emails and adds to its ever growing
vocabulary. With multiple personalities and the ability to generate false
account information (including credit card numbers, bank account information and
postal addresses) there's no way for scammers to know they're talking to
computer. Users can check up on and share the conversations they initiate,
fuelling an important global conversation. This constant flow of emails from
scammers provides entertaining content but also up to the minute data on
trending scams. Re:scam uses this to educate people through social media, and
shares all scammer information with cybercrime agencies.
Describe the Execution
After a year of development and testing Re:scam was unleashed
on the world’s scammers. At time of launch it had a database of responses
exceeding 100,000 phrases, built from engagement with real scammers. Every
element of Re:scam from its responses to its appearance and speech are
digitally generated. We first shared Re:scam with local television news and
then released a video in which Re:scam introduced itself to the world with one
simple instruction: forward all scams to me@rescam.org. Within 24 hours of
going live Re:scam had gone global. In the next week it made its way to the
front of Reddit and publications like The Guardian, Reuters, Vice, LAD Bible
and Buzzfeed. Because people can check in on and share the conversations being
had with their scammers Re:scam generates unique content for each user. As
hoped, Re:scam had people talking about scamming like never before. Re:scam
joined the conversation through various social media accounts which it uses to
educate and update followers and influencers on scams and how to avoid them. At
rescam.org people can meet the chatbot ‘faces to face’, learn about what it is,
how it works and why it needed to be created. The site features our favourite
conversations and updates on the cumulative amount of time wasted by scammers.
Through the site people can get advice on avoiding scams, and connect to the
right support for victims of scams. Remarkably, many victims in denial about
being scammed broke their cycle by connecting to Netsafe through Re:scam. With
the steady flow of incoming scammer emails, Re:scam collects up-to-the-minute
data on trending scams and the scammers that are sending them. This information
is analysed and used by Netsafe, as well as shared with cybercrime fighting
agencies like The Police, Interpol and The FBI.