HeartGuard VR: immersive romance scam education

Octavia Lea; Lynsay A. Shepherd; Andrea Szymkowiak

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-78269-5_19

HeartGuard VR: immersive romance scam education

Octavia Lea, Lynsay A. Shepherd^*, Andrea Szymkowiak

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Cybersecurity and Computing

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract

Romance scams are a form of social engineering whereby a scammer leads a victim to believe they are in a romantic relationship. The scammer typically lures the victim to an alternative communication method before requesting money under the guise of an urgent situation, such as medical or travel expenses. Victims are left emotionally and financially devastated. Although dating platforms and law enforcement provide information on spotting scammers, it is often text-based and not interactive. We present HeartGuard VR, an immersive, virtual reality (VR) serious game environment which aims to educate the public about romance scams in an engaging manner. This paper describes the game’s design and development, alongside the results of a user evaluation. In the future, it is anticipated the experience will become a publicly available intervention to reduce romance scam victimisation.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Games and Learning Alliance
Subtitle of host publication	13th International Conference, GALA 2024, Berlin, Germany, November 20–22, 2024, proceedings
Editors	Avo Schönbohm, Francesco Bellotti, Antonio Bucchiarone, Francesca de Rosa, Manuel Ninaus, Alf Wang, Vanissa Wanick, Pierpaolo Dondio
Place of Publication	Cham
Publisher	Springer
Pages	201-211
Number of pages	10
ISBN (Electronic)	9783031782695
ISBN (Print)	9783031782688
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-78269-5_19
Publication status	Published - 18 Dec 2024
Event	Games and Learning Alliance Conference 2024 - Berlin School of Economics and Law \| HWR Berlin, Berlin, Germany Duration: 20 Nov 2024 → 22 Nov 2024 Conference number: 13th https://conf.seriousgamessociety.org/

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS)
Publisher	Springer
Volume	15348
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)	1611-3349

Conference

Conference	Games and Learning Alliance Conference 2024
Abbreviated title	GALA Conference 2024
Country/Territory	Germany
City	Berlin
Period	20/11/24 → 22/11/24
Internet address	https://conf.seriousgamessociety.org/

Keywords

Romance scams
Romance fraud
Virtual reality
Serious games
Applied games
Cybersecurity

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-031-78269-5_19

Cite this

Lea, O., Shepherd, L. A., & Szymkowiak, A. (2024). HeartGuard VR: immersive romance scam education. In A. Schönbohm, F. Bellotti, A. Bucchiarone, F. de Rosa, M. Ninaus, A. Wang, V. Wanick, & P. Dondio (Eds.), Games and Learning Alliance: 13th International Conference, GALA 2024, Berlin, Germany, November 20–22, 2024, proceedings (pp. 201-211). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS); Vol. 15348). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-78269-5_19

Lea, Octavia ; Shepherd, Lynsay A. ; Szymkowiak, Andrea. / HeartGuard VR : immersive romance scam education. Games and Learning Alliance: 13th International Conference, GALA 2024, Berlin, Germany, November 20–22, 2024, proceedings. editor / Avo Schönbohm ; Francesco Bellotti ; Antonio Bucchiarone ; Francesca de Rosa ; Manuel Ninaus ; Alf Wang ; Vanissa Wanick ; Pierpaolo Dondio. Cham : Springer, 2024. pp. 201-211 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS)).

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abstract = "Romance scams are a form of social engineering whereby a scammer leads a victim to believe they are in a romantic relationship. The scammer typically lures the victim to an alternative communication method before requesting money under the guise of an urgent situation, such as medical or travel expenses. Victims are left emotionally and financially devastated. Although dating platforms and law enforcement provide information on spotting scammers, it is often text-based and not interactive. We present HeartGuard VR, an immersive, virtual reality (VR) serious game environment which aims to educate the public about romance scams in an engaging manner. This paper describes the game{\textquoteright}s design and development, alongside the results of a user evaluation. In the future, it is anticipated the experience will become a publicly available intervention to reduce romance scam victimisation.",

author = "Octavia Lea and Shepherd, {Lynsay A.} and Andrea Szymkowiak",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2025 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG Data availability statement: Not present.; Games and Learning Alliance Conference 2024, GALA Conference 2024 ; Conference date: 20-11-2024 Through 22-11-2024",

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doi = "10.1007/978-3-031-78269-5_19",

language = "English",

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series = "Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS)",

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Lea, O, Shepherd, LA & Szymkowiak, A 2024, HeartGuard VR: immersive romance scam education. in A Schönbohm, F Bellotti, A Bucchiarone, F de Rosa, M Ninaus, A Wang, V Wanick & P Dondio (eds), Games and Learning Alliance: 13th International Conference, GALA 2024, Berlin, Germany, November 20–22, 2024, proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS), vol. 15348, Springer, Cham, pp. 201-211, Games and Learning Alliance Conference 2024, Berlin, Germany, 20/11/24. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-78269-5_19

HeartGuard VR: immersive romance scam education. / Lea, Octavia; Shepherd, Lynsay A.; Szymkowiak, Andrea.
Games and Learning Alliance: 13th International Conference, GALA 2024, Berlin, Germany, November 20–22, 2024, proceedings. ed. / Avo Schönbohm; Francesco Bellotti; Antonio Bucchiarone; Francesca de Rosa; Manuel Ninaus; Alf Wang; Vanissa Wanick; Pierpaolo Dondio. Cham: Springer, 2024. p. 201-211 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS); Vol. 15348).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

TY - GEN

T1 - HeartGuard VR

T2 - Games and Learning Alliance Conference 2024

AU - Lea, Octavia

AU - Shepherd, Lynsay A.

AU - Szymkowiak, Andrea

N1 - Conference code: 13th

PY - 2024/12/18

Y1 - 2024/12/18

N2 - Romance scams are a form of social engineering whereby a scammer leads a victim to believe they are in a romantic relationship. The scammer typically lures the victim to an alternative communication method before requesting money under the guise of an urgent situation, such as medical or travel expenses. Victims are left emotionally and financially devastated. Although dating platforms and law enforcement provide information on spotting scammers, it is often text-based and not interactive. We present HeartGuard VR, an immersive, virtual reality (VR) serious game environment which aims to educate the public about romance scams in an engaging manner. This paper describes the game’s design and development, alongside the results of a user evaluation. In the future, it is anticipated the experience will become a publicly available intervention to reduce romance scam victimisation.

AB - Romance scams are a form of social engineering whereby a scammer leads a victim to believe they are in a romantic relationship. The scammer typically lures the victim to an alternative communication method before requesting money under the guise of an urgent situation, such as medical or travel expenses. Victims are left emotionally and financially devastated. Although dating platforms and law enforcement provide information on spotting scammers, it is often text-based and not interactive. We present HeartGuard VR, an immersive, virtual reality (VR) serious game environment which aims to educate the public about romance scams in an engaging manner. This paper describes the game’s design and development, alongside the results of a user evaluation. In the future, it is anticipated the experience will become a publicly available intervention to reduce romance scam victimisation.

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DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-78269-5_19

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SN - 9783031782688

T3 - Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS)

SP - 201

EP - 211

BT - Games and Learning Alliance

A2 - Schönbohm, Avo

A2 - Bellotti, Francesco

A2 - Bucchiarone, Antonio

A2 - de Rosa, Francesca

A2 - Ninaus, Manuel

A2 - Wang, Alf

A2 - Wanick, Vanissa

A2 - Dondio, Pierpaolo

PB - Springer

CY - Cham

Y2 - 20 November 2024 through 22 November 2024

ER -

Lea O, Shepherd LA , Szymkowiak A. HeartGuard VR: immersive romance scam education. In Schönbohm A, Bellotti F, Bucchiarone A, de Rosa F, Ninaus M, Wang A, Wanick V, Dondio P, editors, Games and Learning Alliance: 13th International Conference, GALA 2024, Berlin, Germany, November 20–22, 2024, proceedings. Cham: Springer. 2024. p. 201-211. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS)). Epub 2024 Dec 18. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-78269-5_19

HeartGuard VR: immersive romance scam education

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HeartGuard VR

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