SenAI: An Accessible AI Scam Detection and Digital Literacy Tool for Older Adults
Course Instructor
Pramod Gupta
Abstract
Navigating the online world has become increasingly difficult for older adults as digital scams grow more sophisticated. For many seniors, the biggest barrier to staying safe isn’t just understanding technology, but feeling comfortable using it. To address this, SenAI was designed with clarity and accessibility. Clear text, gentle colors, and simple controls create an experience designed specifically for these users who are often overlooked in cybersecurity design. SenAI is an accessible tool that helps adults aged 60 and older determine whether a text message or email may be a scam. This age group faces the highest financial losses of any demographic; according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, seniors reported 147,127 complaints and more than $4.8 billion in losses in 2024 alone. Seniors need technology that actually fits their needs, and SenAI aims to fill that gap with something intelligent, reliable and genuinely easy to use.
A major part of SenAI’s effectiveness comes from how it analyzes messages. It uses a DistilBERT transformer model that I trained using Hugging Face tools and several cleaned datasets containing hundreds of thousands of labeled scam and non-scam messages. This training allows the model to identify subtle patterns that appear in phishing, fraud and impersonation attempts. Beyond simple “safe” or “scam” labels, SenAI highlights the specific words or phrases that raised concerns and adds brief explanations. This makes the feedback easier to understand and turns each scan into a small learning moment for the user. The interface is built with modern tools like Next.js, React and Tailwind CSS, connected to a Python FastAPI backend that serves the trained scam detection model. These tools make it possible to adjust text size, enable text-to-speech, switch color modes, and maintain an overall senior-friendly design.
Overall, SenAI offers steady guidance to build digital literacy over time. By providing both reassurance and clear protection, it works to help seniors feel safer and more confident in their everyday online interactions.
SenAI: An Accessible AI Scam Detection and Digital Literacy Tool for Older Adults
Navigating the online world has become increasingly difficult for older adults as digital scams grow more sophisticated. For many seniors, the biggest barrier to staying safe isn’t just understanding technology, but feeling comfortable using it. To address this, SenAI was designed with clarity and accessibility. Clear text, gentle colors, and simple controls create an experience designed specifically for these users who are often overlooked in cybersecurity design. SenAI is an accessible tool that helps adults aged 60 and older determine whether a text message or email may be a scam. This age group faces the highest financial losses of any demographic; according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, seniors reported 147,127 complaints and more than $4.8 billion in losses in 2024 alone. Seniors need technology that actually fits their needs, and SenAI aims to fill that gap with something intelligent, reliable and genuinely easy to use.
A major part of SenAI’s effectiveness comes from how it analyzes messages. It uses a DistilBERT transformer model that I trained using Hugging Face tools and several cleaned datasets containing hundreds of thousands of labeled scam and non-scam messages. This training allows the model to identify subtle patterns that appear in phishing, fraud and impersonation attempts. Beyond simple “safe” or “scam” labels, SenAI highlights the specific words or phrases that raised concerns and adds brief explanations. This makes the feedback easier to understand and turns each scan into a small learning moment for the user. The interface is built with modern tools like Next.js, React and Tailwind CSS, connected to a Python FastAPI backend that serves the trained scam detection model. These tools make it possible to adjust text size, enable text-to-speech, switch color modes, and maintain an overall senior-friendly design.
Overall, SenAI offers steady guidance to build digital literacy over time. By providing both reassurance and clear protection, it works to help seniors feel safer and more confident in their everyday online interactions.
