Virgin Media O2 has unveiled “Daisy,” an AI-powered call-answering service designed to waste scam callers’ time while keeping potential victims safe. Announced on Thursday, Daisy is programmed to sound like a proud and chatty grandmother, rambling about her family, knitting hobbies, and even providing made-up personal information like false bank details. The aim? To keep fraudsters on the line for as long as possible, with some calls lasting up to 40 minutes.
Developed in collaboration with YouTuber and scambuster Jim Browning, Daisy combines multiple AI models that transcribe calls in real-time and generate human-like responses infused with a grandmotherly personality. According to O2, the choice to create an elderly-sounding persona addresses a serious issue: scammers often target seniors, particularly those over 75, with phone scams being a common method.
The problem is not limited to the UK. In 2023, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported that impersonation scams caused over $1.3 billion in losses in the U.S., with older adults accounting for 40% of victims and 58% of the total financial losses.
Scammers rely on social engineering to extract sensitive information, like bank or social security details, from their victims. Daisy’s role as a decoy disrupts these efforts, ensuring scammers waste time talking to an AI instead of real people. While the tool isn’t publicly available due to its specific optimization for scam calls and computing power requirements, O2 encourages users to report scam calls and texts to their blocking service at 7726.
In an era where fraudsters are constantly evolving their methods, innovative solutions like Daisy offer hope in the fight against scams. Meanwhile, the public is reminded to stay vigilant—and maybe even take a moment to appreciate their actual grandmother’s stories.