Fiza Husin's Portfolio

In 2019, there was a 53.5% rise in the total number of scam cases reported in Singapore from the previous year, with victims losing over S$168.1 million. Scammers are targeting citizens of all ages and backgrounds, causing them to lose their hard-earned savings. At the Open Government Products hackathon event held in 2020, we teamed up with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) to address this issue.

MY ROLE

Strategy, Branding, UX & UI design

PLATFORM

iOS mobile app

YEAR

2020

"Singapore single mum, 36, loses S$15,610 to scammer in 12 hours, left with S$17.06 in bank"

— Belmont Lay (September 13, 2022). mothership.sg

Problem discovery

Scam cases are rising every year as citizens are having a hard time discerning between fake and real messages and calls, as scams are getting more sophisticated.

HMW decrease the number of messages and phone scam cases and deter citizens from falling prey to them?

OVERVIEW OF THE REDESIGNED EXPERIENCE

An AI-powered app that blocks unwanted SMSes and calls

Scamshield works actively in the background to identify, filter and block scam SMSes and calls of unknown contacts from numbers used in illegal activities.

Branding

Scamshield's visual identity comprises a combination of a shield and a fox, chosen to represent the product's characteristics. In addition to the shield, we sought a symbol that embodied Scamshield's traits, and the fox was a perfect fit. With their exceptional hunting skills, acute binocular vision, and ever-vigilant and protective nature.

Onboarding

The onboarding setup is the most crucial step for Scamshield to work, and as such, it must be straightforward and easy to follow, even for those without technical expertise. Additionally, to alleviate privacy concerns, we have included a brief footnote at the bottom.

Landing

The design of landing screen is kept very minimal. Our primary objective is to encourage users to report any scam or spam calls or text messages that we might have overlooked, which is why the main call-to-action is prominently displayed at the top. Additionally, we have provided useful information on how users can safeguard themselves from such scams. Lastly, we encourage users to spread the word about the app by sharing it with their family and friends.

Report

We have kept the reporting process simple and straightforward. Users only need to provide the scammer's phone number (if available) and a brief description of the spam call, or copy or take a screenshot of the text message they received. Upon submission, the report will be directed to the Scamshield Dashboard, where officers will investigate the matter further.

Filter

Assuming the setup is done correctly, all filtered SMS messages will be automatically directed to the Junk folder on the user's phone. As illustrated on the left, this is how it appears on an iPhone.

The Process

Below are highlights of the process and thoughts that went behind the solution.

— Examples of scam messages. Top 6 most common scams in Singapore are job scams, phishing scams, e-commerce scams, investment scams, impersonation scams and loan scams.

Problem breakdown

Our team researched on the various type of scams and gathered opinions from citizens and the Singapore Police Force. Below are some key takeaways.

CITIZENS

Rampant nuisance messages and calls

Citizens are frustrated by the nuisance messages and calls they receive via SMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram. On average, they receive about 3-4 messages and calls every week.

Real or fake?

Hard to discern between fake and real messages and calls as scams are getting more sophisticated (eg. spoofed local numbers, impersonate person, banks or government agencies).

Hassle reporting

Not aware of the existing reporting channels apart from 999 and going to a police station. Filing an e-report for nuisance message or calls is too much of a hassle to fill in.

GOVERNMENT

Manual filtering

Reports filed are manually read and routed to the right divisions.

Passive process

SPF has to wait for citizens to volunteer information or to report in before they can take any actions.

Survey

Would you install an application that would screen and block out scam or spam messages and calls?

Key concerns was invasion of privacy as they are afraid that their personal messages might be read by the government.
Those will install the app said that they would be more likely to trust the app if it was from the government.

Competitive Analysis

We looked into similar apps in the market.

SMS filters are not as effective in Singapore as the messages are structured differently
Monthly subscription cost
Calls and messages pass through their servers which may compromise user data privacy

Our Strategy

Our key goal is to build an app that actively block suspected scam SMS or calls from unknown phone numbers. Our hypothesis was that if we could first block the scammers from reaching via SMS or calls, the scam would not take place.

Prevention

Actively block suspected scam SMS and calls from unknown phone numbers using machine learning.

Direct channel

An easier reporting feature for the public to voluntarily submit their cases, that goes directly to the SPF division handling scams.

Awareness

Promptly inform the public on the latest scams and educate them on the various scams tactics.

Privacy

Assure users that we are not intruding their privacy and will never track their personal activity.

Simple

Minimal interactions with the app and setup should be as simple as possible.

Scamshield

Aiding scam preventions efforts for citizens