Daisy the AI granny is here to answer calls from scammers and waste their time

Finally, the AI use case we've all been waiting for

· TechRadar

News By Graham Barlow published 14 November 2024

"I can see a lot of options on the screen, what do you want me to type, dear?" Daisy the AI granny is here to trap scammers into endless conversations. (Image credit: O2 Virgin Media)
  • O2 has created an AI granny that will trap scammers in meandering conversations to waste as much of their time as possible
  • Daisy is trained on real anonymized scammer data in partnership with well-known scambaiter Jim Browning of the YouTube channel Tech Support Scams
  • New survey reveals that 7 in 10 (71%) of Brits would like to get their own back against scammers that have tried to trick them or their loved ones.

You might not have thought it possible, but grannies will be leading the AI revolution and fighting back against scammers. We’re talking about Daisy (also written dAIsy), the AI granny created by O2 to trap scammers into a long and futile conversation, so they waste as much time as possible on the phone as they try to get her to input her bank details into her computer.

If you listen to dAIsy working her AI-magic on scammers in the video below you'll be able to hear that she is indistinguishable from a human and responds to the scammers by playing into people’s preconceptions about senior citizens not being comfortable with technology. Scammers become increasingly frustrated as they try and try to get her to enter a fake web address into her browser, or enter her personal information, only to have to endure long and meandering conversations that ultimately lead to nowhere.

AI Scambaiters: O2 creates AI Granny to waste scammers’ time - YouTube

Watch On

Thanks Grandma

Daisy isn’t an AI feature you can add to your personal phone account, rather it is a phone number that O2 Virgin Media has managed to get added to a list of online ‘mugs lists’ used by scammers targeting UK consumers. dAIsy is available to answer the phone to scammers no matter what time they call, 24/7. Her goal is to keep the scammers on the phone for as long as possible so that they have less time to ply their treacherous trade against real people.

Murray Mackenzie, Director of Fraud at Virgin Media O2, said: “We’re committed to playing our part in stopping the scammers, investing in everything from firewall technology to block out scam texts to AI-powered spam call detection to keep our customers safe. But crucially, Daisy is also a reminder that no matter how persuasive someone on the other end of the phone may be, they aren’t always who you think they are."

O2 Virgin Media has set up a webpage offering tips, tricks, and advice on dealing with scammers. A recent survey by the company revealed that 7 in 10 (71%) of Brits would like to get revenge on scammers who have tried to trick them, or their loved ones. But why waste your own time when a convincing chatbot with all the time can help fight back against scammers?

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