Grandmother AI Deceives Voice Phishing Scammer
Delays Scammer's Call with Rambling Chatter
As new types of voice phishing scams are rampant both domestically and internationally, the UK's third-largest global telecom company, Virgin Media O2 (O2), has introduced an advanced technology-based new scam prevention method. The strategy involves creating an automated call center staffed by an AI grandmother to delay scammers' calls.
On the 14th (local time), O2 introduced the AI grandmother "Daisy" on its official website. Daisy is a chatbot created using a large language model (LLM) and can produce a sophisticated grandmother's voice through voice synthesis technology. O2 described Daisy as an "AI grandmother who answers on behalf of voice phishing scammers," explaining that "her role is to delay conversations with scammers as much as possible, preventing them from targeting other consumers."
To combat the rapidly increasing voice phishing scams, O2 formed a "fraud prevention team" and has been conducting research. Recently, this team came up with the idea of protecting consumers not by responding to each scammer individually, but by reducing the scammers' operational efficiency. Daisy was developed as part of this new scam response strategy.
Daisy possesses sophistication and personality almost indistinguishable from a real elderly person. She shows unfamiliarity with smartphones or digital devices and chats like a genuine grandmother. Going forward, Daisy will serve as the "fraud prevention chief," tasked with delaying conversations with scammers for as long as possible. This strategy cleverly exploits the stereotype that voice phishing targets elderly people as vulnerable prey.
A computer equipped with AI grandmother 'Daisy' talking to voice phishing scammers instead of a person. Captured from Virgin Media O2
To develop Daisy, O2 collaborated directly with Jim Browning, a YouTuber and well-known online scam investigator. Trained with Browning's advice, Daisy is specialized in conversing with scammers.
In a pilot test conducted before large-scale deployment, Daisy successfully delayed a conversation with an actual voice phishing scammer for 40 minutes. During the call, Daisy rambled about family complaints and chatted about knitting, eventually angering the scammer. In the end, she perfectly deceived the scammer by providing fake bank accounts and false personal information.
O2 emphasized, "We are doing our best to eradicate scammers and are investing in everything from firewall technology that blocks fraudulent texts to AI-based spam call detection technology. Daisy, the newest member of our fraud prevention team, is turning the tide in the war against scammers."
They added, "Daisy's role is to outsmart and cleverly deceive scammers in their cruel game," but also urged, "Scammers operate 24-hour call centers targeting customers specifically, so all consumers must remain vigilant and report suspicious calls and texts to help prevent scams."
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