An AI grandma is here to scam the scammers.
Imagine this: your phone rings, and on the other end is a friendly voice claiming to be from your bank, warning you of a suspicious transaction. Panic sets in as they coax personal details out of you. By the time you realize it is a scam, the damage is done.
Phone scammers are a persistent nuisance that plagues individuals and businesses alike, costing them time, money and peace of mind. The dangers extend far beyond mere annoyance: scams can devastate lives, especially when fraudsters prey on the elderly or vulnerable. Adding to the frustration is the helplessness many feel when faced with these schemes—it often seems like there’s nothing you can do to fight back. But what if you could turn the tables on scammers and waste their time instead of yours? Enter Daisy AI, the AI Grandma developed by British telecommunication company Virgin Media O2 in partnership with well-known scam baiter and YouTuber Jim Browning.
Launched in November 2024, Daisy AI is a clever and innovative response to the phone scam epidemic. Designed to interact with fraudsters and keep them occupied for as long as possible, Daisy mimics the persona of a tech-illiterate grandmother. It is equipped with advanced AI, engaging scammers in rambling conversations, peppered with anecdotes about knitting, family and other harmless distractions. By the time the scammer realizes they’ve been speaking to an AI, precious minutes—sometimes up to 40—have already been wasted.
How Daisy AI works
Daisy uses sophisticated technology to simulate real-time conversations with a believable grandmotherly voice. In fact, Daisy’s voice was modeled after the grandmother of a staff member from VCCP Faith, O2’s partnered media agency.
Here’s how it works: Scammers call a designated number that O2’s anti-fraud team has added to contact lists used by fraudsters. Daisy then uses AI to process the incoming voice, transcribe it into text, generate an appropriate response using a custom large language model (LLM) and convert that response back into speech. This seamless process ensures that scammers are none the wiser.
Beyond its ability to converse, Daisy is specifically designed to mimic a grandmother: she would feign confusion and share fabricated details like made-up bank information to present itself as an easy target. This keeps scammers hooked and disrupts their workflow, reducing the time and energy they can spend targeting real victims.
Operating independently, Daisy requires no human intervention once a call begins. As a digital solution, it can handle multiple calls simultaneously, operating around the clock without fatigue. Two weeks after its launch, this AI grandma has engaged in over 1,000 conversations to sideline fraudsters.
Why Virgin Media O2 developed Daisy AI
Virgin Media O2 created Daisy as part of its ongoing commitment to safeguarding its customers from scams. For context, the United Kingdom has the highest fraud call rate in Europe, at 9.3%. A survey conducted by O2 revealed that almost 70% of people reported being targeted by scammers and 20% of respondents experienced a fraud attempt every week. The rise of phone fraud has made it increasingly important to adopt proactive measures, and Daisy represents an innovative way to combat this issue.
Unlike traditional approaches—such as blocking suspicious numbers or issuing consumer warnings—Daisy flips the script. It wastes scammers’ resources, thereby reducing their operational capacity. Beyond this, Daisy also serves an educational purpose by showcasing common tactics used by fraudsters, helping to foster greater public awareness and vigilance.
Limitations of Daisy AI
Despite its ingenuity, Daisy AI is not without its limitations. Currently, Daisy operates on a restricted scale, answering only a fraction of the vast number of potential fraudulent calls. Without a mechanism for customers to directly forward scam calls to the AI, its ability to deter scammers on a large scale is reduced. This limits its effectiveness to more of a speed bump rather than a comprehensive solution.
Another challenge lies in scalability. Effectively countering the widespread issue of phone scams would require deploying a large number of AI entities like Daisy. As noted by Julian Hayes, a partner at BCL Solicitors, a “legion of them” would be necessary to make a significant dent in the mobile fraud ecosystem. This raises questions about the scalability of such solutions and the resources required to maintain them.
There’s also the possibility that scammers may eventually recognize and adapt to Daisy’s tactics. As fraudsters become aware of such AI interventions, they might develop methods to identify and avoid prolonged interactions. This could limit the AI’s long-term effectiveness.
Finally, the use of AI to engage in deceptive interactions, even against malicious actors like scammers, also raises ethical and legal considerations. Employing AI-generated personas to mislead individuals, regardless of their intent, could set precedents that may be misapplied in other contexts. Additionally, the legality of recording and using conversations without explicit consent varies across jurisdictions, potentially exposing organizations to legal risks.
A step in the right direction
Daisy AI is a shining example of how technology can creatively address modern problems. By flipping the script on scammers, Virgin Media O2 has not only provided a protective shield for its customers but also dealt a blow to fraudsters’ operations. Given the growth of phone scams and the difficulty in cracking down on them—particularly when many operate from overseas—innovative tech solutions like Daisy are a step in the right direction.
While Daisy isn’t a perfect solution—and certainly not the only one needed to combat scams—it represents an important step forward. As scammers continue to adapt, tools like Daisy remind us that innovation and vigilance remain our best defenses. In a world where phone scams are an ever-present threat, Daisy offers a touch of poetic justice and a reason to hope for a safer digital landscape.
Also read:
- Stay Safe Online: Tips to Protect Yourself from These Common Online Scams
- AI Overload: What is AI Fatigue and How to Effectively Manage It
- 6 Key Ways AI Is Making HR Operations More Efficient
Header Image from O2’s YouTube Channel
