SAN RAMON, CA — A group of San Ramon students qualified for the Future Business Leaders of America State Leadership Conference through their efforts to educate local seniors about the dangers of online scams. Through Project Cybershield, the group has educated over 100 local seniors, and reached over 46,000 Instagram users.
Dougherty Valley High School sophomore Samyutha Tadepalli said the idea for Project Cybershield came to her after her grandfather received a call threatening to shut off his phone line unless he paid $1500.
“This situation highlighted how vulnerable seniors can be to increasingly sophisticated scams, especially as technology continues to rapidly evolve,” she told Patch in an email. She worked with her fellow Project Chairs Dhilan Mehta and Rishi Singh to deliver several workshops on phone and online scams to over 100 seniors at Ivy Park Senior Living in San Ramon from January through March.
The group also spread awareness through fundraisers at the California Pizza Kitchen, and a letter writing event in which high school students wrote cards to seniors with kind messages and cybersecurity tips. They also posted fliers, conducted a survey of scam awareness at Dougherty Valley High School, and launched an Instagram account that has reportedly reached over 46,000 people.
They were one of the top 8 FBLAs chapters selected to speak at the FBLA State Leadership Conference in Anaheim, where they delivered a seven-minute presentation about their project.
“One of the reasons this project is so important to us is because technology is advancing quickly but not everyone is given the tools to stay safe and Project Cybershield is about closing that gap and protecting vulnerable members of our community,” Tadepalli said.
SEE ALSO:
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
San Ramon, CA Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.