The rise in sophisticated phone scams, especially targeting vulnerable groups like seniors, inspired us to create WatchDog. We saw an urgent need for a cybersecurity solution that leverages advanced technology to provide robust, real-time protection against these threats.
WatchDog enhances cybersecurity by defending against phone scams, using cutting-edge AI and advanced speech recognition. It listens to calls, dynamically evaluates risks and likelihoods of scams, and alerts users of the probability that they are at risk of being scammed, safeguarding vulnerable individuals like seniors.
We built WatchDog using ReactJS, TailwindCSS, and FramerMotion for the frontend, with Flask for the backend. Our group implemented state-of-the-art AI algorithms and speech recognition technologies. Our approach involved using NLP-based context-based matching with common scam/fraud-related phrases, recognizing suspicious patterns and keywords. We integrated this with a user-friendly interface that provides real-time 'scam scores', ensuring a seamless user experience.
Ensuring the AI's accuracy across diverse scenarios was a significant cybersecurity challenge. Minimizing false positives while maintaining high sensitivity to scams required fine-tuning our robust algorithm. We also ran into some issues with Git/Version Control.
We are proud of achieving high accuracy in detecting scam calls and creating a secure, seamless user experience. WatchDog was a concept that we were skeptical about implementing at first, but the process was very rewarding, especially seeing all of the components of the project come together and seeing our vision come to life.
We learned how to implement NLP matching into our project and the importance of cybersecurity threats. We made sure to tailor WatchDog to be more effective and user-friendly
Next, we plan to enhance WatchDog cybersecurity capabilities by incorporating multi-language support and expanding our database of scam patterns. We aim to integrate with more communication platforms to provide broader protection. We look to extend our reach and impact, ensuring more people benefit from our advanced cybersecurity solution.