Ghost Wallet

Inspiration

South Africa experiences high crime rates, including hijackings, robberies, and kidnappings, with women often being the primary targets. Ghost Wallet was inspired by the need to protect women from violent criminals while safeguarding their financial assets. The system allows users to access a “Ghost Mode” version of their account with minimal funds while secretly sending alerts to next of kin or authorities. This ensures that victims can remain safe, their savings remain secure, and lives and futures are protected.

What it does

The Ghost Wallet system is a secure banking application designed to protect users, especially women, from financial theft and physical harm during high-risk situations. It features a dual-mode account system: a real account mode that shows the actual balances and a ghost mode that displays a low, fake balance to prevent criminals from detecting the user’s true funds. When ghost mode is activated, the system automatically sends a simulated alert to next of kin or trusted contacts, including a timestamp and location, without alerting the attacker. The interface is clean, professional, and identical in both modes, allowing users to access their accounts safely and discreetly. This system ensures both financial security and personal safety, providing reassurance and protection in dangerous situations.

How we built it

The Ghost Wallet prototype was built using HTML, CSS, and PHP to create a web-based simulation of the system. HTML structured the web pages, including the login page and the dashboard, while CSS styled them to provide a clean, professional, and user-friendly interface. PHP handled the backend logic, including PIN verification, selecting real or ghost account balances, and triggering simulated emergency alerts when Ghost Mode was used. The code was written and edited in Notepad++, and the application was run locally using XAMPP, which provided a server environment for the PHP scripts. This setup allowed for a fully functional prototype that demonstrates the security and emergency alert features of Ghost Wallet without requiring a full desktop application.

Challenges we ran into

One of the main challenges we faced was trying to use WPF in C# to create a system that could potentially be suitable for mobile deployment. While the idea and logic behind Ghost Wallet were clear and well-understood, adapting it to WPF for mobile compatibility proved difficult. To overcome this, we shifted to using HTML, CSS, and PHP to build a web-based prototype, which allowed us to quickly implement the core functionality and demonstrate the concept effectively. This approach made it easier to visualize the dual-mode account system, ghost alerts, and user interface, while keeping the prototype accessible and functional without needing a full desktop or mobile application environment.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Despite the initial challenges, we achieved several key accomplishments with the Ghost Wallet prototype. We successfully built a fully functional dual-mode system that allows users to access both real and ghost accounts seamlessly. The prototype includes a professional and user-friendly interface, ensuring that both account modes look identical while maintaining the underlying security logic. We also implemented a simulated emergency alert system that triggers when ghost mode is used, demonstrating how users’ safety could be protected in real-life scenarios. Additionally, we were able to translate the original C# concept into a web-based solution using HTML, CSS, and PHP, making the system accessible, testable, and easy to present as a working prototype. Overall, the project demonstrates a practical, innovative, and socially impactful solution to financial and personal safety challenges.

What we learned

hrough developing the Ghost Wallet prototype, we learned valuable lessons about designing secure systems for high-risk scenarios. We gained experience in creating dual-mode interfaces that look identical to prevent detection while handling different backend logic for real and ghost accounts. Building the prototype in HTML, CSS, and PHP helped us understand the importance of rapid prototyping and how web technologies can effectively demonstrate complex ideas. We also learned how to simulate emergency alerts and integrate basic backend functionality, ensuring that the system could respond quickly in stressful situations. Overall, the project highlighted the importance of usability, security, and social impact when designing technology aimed at protecting users in real-world emergencies.