Abstract (Poster)

Keywords: phone scams, audio installation, interactive storytelling, reverse engineering, artivism

16th century ‘face to face’ persuasion scams adopted to letters, telephone, fax and Internet with the development of new communication technologies. In many of today’s fraud schemes phone numbers play an important role. Various freeto-use on-line tools enable the scammers to hide their identities with fake names, bogus business websites, and VoIP services. These fake businesses or personas can appear more legitimate when connected to a phone number, enabling a faster, more personal contact to the victims. With the typology of a sample probe of 374 emails, commonly used in business proposal scams, the emails were categorized and tested to see how believable the proposals sound once the scammers were contacted by phone. The research can be explored in a 5- channel interactive audio installation called ‘Let’s talk business’ that uncovers which business proposals and scam schemes are commonly used, and how believable the proposals sound once the scammers are called.

• Linda Kronman, KairUs and Danube University, Krems, Austria. I work as a independent media artist and designer. Since year 2000 I have worked as Graphic Designer, Art Director and Animation Designer and taken part in several multidisciplinary Research & Design projects. In my artistic work I explore interactive and transmedial methods of storytelling with a special focus on digital fiction. In connection with my studies at the MediaArtHistories program in Danube University Krems, I was focusing on participatory ways to experience and archive social media fiction. I am interested in participatory art and design practices, specially in connection to creative activism. Since 2010 I have worked together with Andreas Zingerle forming the artist collective KairUs working around the theme of Internet fraud.   kairus.org
• Andreas Zingerle,  Teaching and Research Assistant, University of Art and Design, Linz, Austria. Andreas is a media artist from Innsbruck, Austria. He is a PhD candidate at the Timebased and Interactive Media Department in Linz (Austria). He is researching scambaiting strategies and implements their mechanics in interactive narratives and media competence trainings. In the last years he worked on several installations exploring a creative misuse of technology and alternative ways of Human Computer Interaction. Since 2004 he takes part in international conferences and exhibitions, among others Ars Electronica Campus, Siggraph, Japan Media Arts Festival, File, WRO Biennale.

Full text (PDF) p. 965-966