In the realm of computer-mediated communication (CMC), users face increasing challenges in detecting and guarding against online deception, such as fake reviews, spear phishing, and identity fraud. With CMC being "cue lean," message receivers only have words to interpret context and the underlying intent of the sender. To address this, researchers aim to understand how language-action cues can derive context and identify spontaneous computer-mediated deception.
The research considers a sociotechnical system that simulates interpersonal computer-mediated deception in pairwise interaction through an online game. The team collected and analyzed data to uncover patterns that provide subtle cues to deceptive intent. The results show that certain language-action cues can effectively and accurately detect computer-mediated deception. Overall, the study provides insights into the impact of communication modes and media on deception and suggests potential directions for future research to improve the detection of online deception.
