British mobile phone company Virgin Media O2 has introduced a new AI called “Granny/Daisy”, who is designed to waste scammers’ time by having long, lifelike conversations with them. The goal is to keep scammers busy and away from real people.
Daisy, who is like a “Granny” character, sounds so much like a real person that scammers can’t tell she’s fake. She’s trained using the latest technology and real content from people who prank scammers, known as “scambaiters.”
How Daisy Works Daisy can answer scam calls in real time, without needing any help from her creators. She uses AI to listen to the scammer, understand what they’re saying, and respond back in a way that sounds like a real conversation.
Daisy can keep scammers on the phone for up to 40 minutes, wasting their time with stories about her family, hobbies like knitting, or fake personal details like made-up bank information. Currently, it is available in the UK.
By doing this, she tricks the scammers into thinking they are talking to a real person, preventing them from targeting actual victims.
Why Daisy was created O2 launched Daisy as part of its “Swerve the Scammers” campaign. Research by O2 showed that most people in the UK are worried about fraud, with many experiencing scam calls regularly.
O2 wanted to find a way to fight back against fraudsters without making their customers waste their time on these scammers. Daisy helps with this by keeping scammers busy, exposing their tactics, and giving people a better chance to avoid falling for scams.
Amy Hart’s Involvement Former Love Island star Amy Hart, who has been a victim of fraud herself, is working with Daisy to show how scammers operate. Amy shared her shocking experience of losing over £5,000 in a scam, where a fraudster pretended to be from her bank.
She’s now helping to spread awareness about scams and how people can protect themselves. Watch the video below to see Daisy in action as she tricks scammers and keeps them on the line.
O2’s Efforts to Fight Fraud O2 has invested a lot in tools to fight fraud, including AI-powered systems to block spam calls and identify fraudulent callers.
The company also encourages people to report suspicious calls and texts by forwarding them to 7726. This helps O2 block fraudulent numbers and improve its ability to stop scams.
In just one year, O2 blocked 89 million scam texts and prevented over £250 million in fraudulent transactions. However, fraudsters are getting more sophisticated, so O2 urges people to leave scambaiting to the AI experts like Daisy, rather than trying to waste scammers’ time themselves.
Taking Action Against Fraud O2 is also calling for more action to stop fraud. They want the government to take more responsibility for tackling scams by creating a national fraud body and appointing a fraud minister to oversee the efforts.
By using Daisy, O2 is working to protect its customers and raise awareness about fraud.
