The Calgary Animated Objects Society (CAOS) is using puppets to teach seniors about cyber fraud. Grey Guardians is a series of three new puppet shows put on by CAOS puppeteers touring senior homes and community centres in Calgary and Lethbridge this September. “Puppets can make complex ideas fun, so puppetry was a natural choice to fulfil CAOS’s mission to spread awareness about the scourge of AI and online scams affecting senior citizens. These email and AI scams can happen to anyone. Reach out to the people you trust, and report the fraud.” said CAOS artistic director and lead artist Xstine Cook, in a media release. There’s actually three new anti-scam puppet shows: AI Scams, Cyber Security and Buy and Sell Safety, which the organization developed in conjunction with Technology Helps, a non-profit dedicated to educating people about cyber security. In the trio of shows, seniors use puppets to act out stopping a scammer, in a way that’s fun and memorable. Puppeteer Ahona Sanyal has a personal connection to the Grey Guardians. “Someone called my grandma and impersonated me using an AI voice,” said Sanyal. “They told her I was in trouble and needed financial help, and it sounded just like me.” “I’m so thankful that she checked with me before going through with it, and losing her money.” Puppeteers Sanyal, Autumn Adrian, Andrew Burniston and Day Chase created the shows and are performing them in senior homes across the city. The puppeteers were trained by Fraggle Rock puppeteer Jen Bain, and Old Trout Puppet Workshop artistic director Peter Balkwill. Each Grey Guardians show runs about an hour including a puppeteering workshop, puppet show, interactive games and discussions. The shows can be booked separately or in a series. For information from the Government of Canada offering cyber security guidance, go here. More information about AI scams here and here. To contact the Calgary Festival of Animated Objects, go here.
