Revolutionary AI tech puts an end to scam calls

A new artificial intelligence chat bot, AI “granny”, Daisy, has been designed to engage scammers in conversation over the phone so that customers do not need to waste time talking to them. 

Ever thought that the nuisance of scams would never end? Sadly, we live in a generation where scamming is on the rise – and that goes from telephone calls to password hacking to random Whatsapp messages. Scams are the creepy crawly legs behind fraud and identity theft and seem to be plaguing countries nationwide, reaching even higher to the scale to political leaks and turmoil for some companies and institutions. In the UK, fraud levels have doubled and this is only one example of this ubiquitous epidemic.

But wait. I have some incredible news to combat scam calls.

Brain-boxes at a British telecommunications company have launched an AI “granny” configured to waste scammers’ time, simply by rambling on and on for as long as possible.

Welcome to the stage, Daisy!

This new artificial intelligence (AI) “granny” named Daisy has been tasked with the laborious efforts that we don’t want to make – in other words, cold calls from scammers. Virgin Media O2, the UK telecommunications company behind Daisy the AI chatbot, has trained the bot to be used as a real scam-baiter – she is “indistinguishable from a real person,” and can “fool scammers into thinking they’ve found a perfect target”.

Daisy can listen and respond to scam callers just like a real granny

Daisy is made up of a myriad of AI models that together can listen and respond to scam callers. And just like the quintessential call from a granny, she will entertain scammers, filling them with superfluous information about knitting and her family before eventually providing false bank details. Scammers have been so convinced that they have cracked the customer’s bank details, that they have withstood up to 40 minutes of conversation just to reach the “jackpot” at the end. Sad thing is, there is no jackpot.

“Daisy, is turning the tables on scammers”

Daisy’s cunning ways means that the tables are turning for scammers. Murray Mackenzie, director of fraud at Virgin Media O2 said: “The newest member of our fraud-prevention team, Daisy, is turning the tables on scammers – outsmarting and outmanoeuvring them at their own cruel game simply by keeping them on the line.” The hope is that this will be a significant deterrent and will make scammers wary…as well as bored!

In the UK, a February study from BDO financial services discovered fraud rates of up to £2.3 billion (€2.69 billion) in 2023 – an unfathomable increase of 104 per cent from 2022. Another study revealed that two thirds of unsuspecting respondents over 75 had suffered fraud attempts in the past six months. There is certainly an intrinsic desire to bait scammers and play them at their own game or take them for a ride, but most cannot be bothered to do it. The great thing of course is, as Mackenzie said, Daisy has “all the time in the world.”

AI technology is pioneering in the UK but could reach further afield

For now, the AI technology is pioneering in the UK, aimed mainly at those over 75-years-old, who tend to be susceptible to scammers. Yet this is the tip of the ice berg.

Stay tuned for the next innovation in AI anti-scammer technology – its certainly on the cards!

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