The project seeks to address the lack of sufficient awareness of cyber threats, including fishing attacks, among local vulnerable citizens, in particular older adults (over 60s) and young people (10-19 years), in the Bulk ward area of Lancaster (UK). Bulk ward is considered as one of the deprived areas of the city specifically income, employment, education, skills and training, disability and living environment. The proposed technological solution using games for learning is ideal for our communities to engage with, raise their awareness and acquire relevant knowledge on e-commerce fraud and scams, thereby encouraging behavioural change.

The main stakeholders for this project are the Gregson Community and Arts Centre https://gregson.co.uk/. The Gregson is a hub for around 60 regular volunteer groups and provides the perfect space for these communities to come together, be creative and have shared experiences. Initial survey data collected shows there is a need to provide a mechanism to engage, motivate and develop cyber hygiene skills for our target groups using a multi-player experience that is fun, engaging, cost-effective and sustainable beyond the lifetime of this project.

The project will focus on building a prototype using raspberry Pi 5 starter kits, four NFC card readers, NFC stickers, a keyboard, mouse, a touch screen monitor, game navigation and push buttons for accessibility, and materials for building the system. The application will be designed to function as a two-player turn-based game but can be increased to support up to four players. The design phase will be based on a participatory approach to help conceptualize existing and future opportunities and ensure active engagement of our participants during the analysis, planning and design phases of the project.

The prototype will be easily accessible to enable engagement. Once the prototype is developed and tested, participants will be invited to training days to test and facilitate its use.