Story topic and angle
As our digital environment becomes more complex, a trend has emerged: fake online advertisements not only mislead consumers, but also become a gateway to online scams. According to Targeting scams report, Australia loses $2.03 billion in 2024, of which more than $34 million is lost through buying and selling scams, with online shopping ranking second among the buying and selling types. Digital scams deceives online shoppers through some special strategies, such as AI-generated images and sales. This proposal will delve into the mechanisms and motivations behind this online scam and the psychological impact on consumers through case studies and interviews. Furthermore, it links online scams to wider regulatory and ethical challenges like the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). As an observer in the classification of Tanner et al. (2017), tracking cyber scams can uncover the complex network behind them, linking consumer experiences to policy challenges, and urging Australian cyber regulators to curb these deceptive digital practices.
Narrative genre
I chose the new feature as my narrative genre. Because this topic needs detailed interviews, case studies, investigation and multimedia enhancements to improve the understanding of online scams for readers and to safeguard against such scams.
Publication and target user group
This topic is particularly suitable for investigative media, such as ABC News. Target users include cybersecurity professionals, regulatory regulators and ordinary Australians who frequently shop online. In addition, given the nature of online media publishing, news reporting on social media is highly interactive (Bossio, 2017). The platform news can be posted to social media such as Facebook to expand its reach, which means users can be invited to share personal stories through comments or interactions. Not only can they provide warnings, but also provide them with practical advice on how to detect and avoid online fraud.
Sources
The survey will draw on multiple reliable sources.
Human sources: interviews with victims of online scams and cybersecurity experts (e.g. representatives from the ACCC) to collect real story cases, as well as expert comments on the current challenges of regulating online false advertising.
Literary and online sources: Website and details from the ACCC on digital scams
Detailed reports on digital scams published by Scamwatch: Targeting scams: report of the National Anti-Scam Centre on scams data and activity 2024
Examples reported in the media: ‘Ghost stores’: the online retailers promoting closing-down sales for physical shops that don’t exist
Ideas for multimedia, hypertext and interactivity
To enhance engagement and clarity, the feature will include:
Images: AI-modified images of advertisements and fake websites.
Infographics: Data visualisations of the sheer volume of reported scams and the variety of types.
Hypertext: Embedded links to Australian regulatory guidance, source reports.
Interactivity and Hypertext: To further engage digital readers, embedded videos can be used to explain how consumers can identify red flags in digital advertisements. Polls can also be included to ask users if they have experienced cyber scams and have encountered suspicious online advertisements.
The topics of online fraud and false advertising are relevant and timely, especially supported by data from 2024.
Your proposal usually uses correct spelling and grammar.
It is good that you used different kinds of sources, including statistical data and media reports. However, it can be quoted more extensively, such as social media posts, academic literature.
Please make sure images are all captioned, attributed, and alt tagged properly.
Your proposal indicates conducting some research using reliable sources such as ACCC and Scamwatch. However, you did not specifically identify the respondents or elaborate on the methods you used to find and approach them.