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Virgin Media O2 rolls out ‘scambaiting’ chatbot Daisy to crack down on criminals
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Normally it would be a scammer’s dream to catch an elderly victim on the phone, chatting away while extracting bank details and sensitive personal information.
But a new “AI granny”, who loves calling people “dear” and talking about her fluffy cat, has emerged as a self-proclaimed “scammer’s worst nightmare”.
The new “scambaiting” chatbot, known as Daisy, has been rolled out by telecoms giant Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) in an attempt to crack down on criminals.
Daisy is designed to intercept hoax calls meant for other customers, with the aim of keeping scammers on the phone for as long as possible to prevent them from targeting other people.
Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the chatbot is already being used to expose scammers across VMO2’s network, at times keeping fraudsters on the phone for up to 40 minutes with “rambling chat”.
In VMO2’s demonstration video, Daisy voices her frustration at being unable to type out the “three Ws” in an online web address.
A fraudster’s exasperation boils over in another call, protesting: “It’s nearly been an hour!”. To which Daisy responds: “Gosh, how time flies.”
Other conversation topics favoured by Daisy include knitting. She bemuses fraudsters by providing incorrect bank details.
Daisy also repeatedly calls scammers “dear”, resulting in one caller furiously swearing and shouting: “Stop calling me dear.” To which Daisy replies: “Got it, dear.”
In her own words, Daisy says: “While they’re busy talking to me, they can’t be scamming you. And let’s face it dear, I’ve got all the time in the world.”
According to data from regulator Ofcom, almost half (48pc) of British landline users and 39pc of mobile phone customers are receiving scam calls, accounting for tens of millions of bogus calls per year.
Meanwhile, BT says its AI-driven Hiya phone protection service has blocked more than 20m scam and spam calls since it was introduced in May 2024.
Fraud accounts for 40pc of all UK crime, with 3.2m offences taking place each year. This is estimated to cost society around £6.8bn annually.
As part of a new campaign for International Fraud Awareness Week, VMO2 said it had appointed Daisy as “head of scammer relations”.
It said she would keep callers on the phone for as long as possible “with human-like rambling chat to keep them away from real people”.
The technology has been built using AI software similar to ChatGPT, the digital chatbot. It has been fine-tuned by Jim Browning, a popular YouTuber known for his “scambaiting” videos.
Murray Mackenzie, director of fraud at VMO2, 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 company is also urging customers to report scam calls by dialling 7726 if they receive a suspicious call.
Amy Hart, a former Love Island star who is fronting the anti-scam campaign, said: “It’s scary to see the lengths scammers go to steal everything from passwords to bank details regardless of who they’re speaking to. Whether you’re young or old, anyone can be a victim of a scam – that’s why we can never be too careful when it comes to unexpected calls or texts.”
VMO2 said last year it had stopped £250m in suspected fraudulent transactions involving its customers. It also blocked 89m suspicious texts from reaching its network’s users.
However, despite seven in 10 Brits saying they have been targeted by scammers, just one in 20 cases reported to Action Fraud, the national fraud reporting centre, ever resulted in an investigation.
Earlier this month, VMO2 called on the Government to appoint a minister tasked with tackling the fraud epidemic.
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