Online scams represent a growing threat in cyberspace, exploiting emotional connections, trust, and social vulnerabilities to inflict severe financial losses and long-lasting psychological harm. This project tackles the growing threat of online scams powered by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) by examining why some individuals are more susceptible than others and identifying protective behaviors that can reduce risk. It also investigates how scammers use AI-generated content, such as fake profiles and messages, and how this affects users. To support users in recognizing and avoiding scams, the project will develop innovative detection tools and explainable warning systems that provide clear and timely alerts during online interactions. The project focuses on the evolving landscape of online scams and develops protective strategies through a coordinated set of research objectives. The project team will examine demographic, psychological, and online behavioral risk factors that increase susceptibility to scams. It will also identify protective factors, guided by Protection Motivation Theory, to help design targeted interventions and prevention strategies that reduce vulnerability to scams. The project team will conduct a longitudinal and multimodal analysis of scammer tactics. This includes detecting the use of GenAI to generate deceptive profiles and communications and assessing the ability to distinguish AI-generated and human-crafted scams through controlled u