AI Literacy Project, Fjellhøy take aim at modern scams

The AI Literacy Project held a special event on Sunday, Aug. 30 at Trinity Presbyterian Church in San Carlos, Calif., with special guest Cecilie Fjellhøy, an international fraud expert. The two-hour presentation featured opening comments by Adya Tewari and Saanvi Chawla, co-founders of the AI Literacy Project and a keynote presentation by Fjellhøy, who turned her personal experience with romance fraud into a platform to educate and empower other similarly impacted individuals.

Widely known for her Netflix appearances on The Tinder Swindler and Love Con Revenge, Fjellhøy captivated the audience with advice on how to recognize a variety of modern scams. Her 45-minute slide presentation, titled “Deception by Design,” was followed by a fireside chat with Tewari and Chawla, open Q & A with audience members and informal meet and greet with participants and guests.

“We’ve previously presented at schools and senior centers,” Tewari said. “This event was our biggest one yet because it appealed to all ages and backgrounds.”

End victim blaming

Drawing from her own experience, Fjellhøy noted that scammers are both crafty and believable. We need to end victim blaming, she stated, because scams can happen to anyone, even financially responsible people with amazing credit scores.

[Explain here why some people are ashamed to come forward and why law enforcement is reluctant in many cases to prosecute these crimes because in many cases the loans and credit are in the victim’s names. ]

[Share that romance scams are rampant but many victims are ashamed to come forward so it’s hard to know actual statistics]

Several audience members shared their own experiences, including someone whose aunt is currently in a suspicious online relationship.

Future roadmap

Tewari and Chawla, who are high school seniors, thanked Fjellhøy for her insights and active role as an advisor for the AI Literacy Project, which continues to expand, with additional events and locations on its near-term roadmap.

“We know we’ll be graduating and possibly leaving California,” Tewari said. “And we have trained our new leaders, Gavin and Cameron Liu, who helped organize today’s event and will carry on this important work.”

Tewari also mentioned that the team is in discussions with potential satellite offices in Boston, Southern California and the United Kingdom.

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