Daisy the AI grandma is here to answer calls from scammers and waste their time
Finally, the AI use case we've all been waiting for
- UK carrier O2 has created an AI grandma 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 people in the UK 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 grandmas will be leading the AI revolution and fighting back against scammers. We’re talking about Daisy (also written dAIsy), the AI grandma created by UK carrier 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.
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 people in the UK 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 in the world can help fight back against scammers?
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Graham is the Senior Editor for AI at TechRadar. With over 25 years of experience in both online and print journalism, Graham has worked for various market-leading tech brands including Computeractive, PC Pro, iMore, MacFormat, Mac|Life, Maximum PC, and more. He specializes in reporting on everything to do with AI and has appeared on BBC TV shows like BBC One Breakfast and on Radio 4 commenting on the latest trends in tech. Graham has an honors degree in Computer Science and spends his spare time podcasting and blogging.