The AI Chatbot “Elderly Lady” Specializing in Phone Scammers Recently Launched in the UK Has Engaged in Over 1,000 Conversations with Fraudsters.
Telecom company Virgin Media O2 in the UK has recently developed an AI tool named Daisy, which has the voice of an elderly woman. Daisy keeps phone scammers engaged with long-winded stories about cats, family matters, knitting, and more.
According to Virgin Media O2, the mission of this AI granny is to chat, hold up, and waste the time of scammers, preventing them from contacting real victims.
Daisy’s virtual appearance is that of an elderly woman with gray hair, wearing glasses, and speaking on a landline telephone. (Photo: Virgin Media O2).
When scammers call Daisy, they become trapped in a conversation that goes nowhere. Daisy takes advantage of stereotypes about older adults, such as a perceived lack of technological savvy or slow information processing, quickly discouraging the criminals on the other end of the line.
If they request personal information like bank account details, Grandma Daisy concocts fake information. Throughout the conversation, the AI chatbot can gather information and clues about the scammer, aiding authorities in making arrests.
The purpose of AI Grandma Daisy is to deliberately waste the time of scammers. (Photo: Virgin Media O2)
Notably, Daisy communicates very realistic content with a slow and calm tone. This leads scammers to believe they are conversing with a real elderly woman. Moreover, the AI grandma can talk on the phone day and night without getting tired.
A demonstration video shows Daisy’s virtual appearance as an elderly woman with gray hair and glasses, speaking on a landline telephone. Scammers become increasingly frustrated as they find themselves “stuck” in conversation with Daisy for over 40 minutes. Despite this, the scammers still hope to obtain credit card numbers or banking information from her.
The virtual image of AI Grandma Daisy developed by Virgin Media O2. (Source: YouTube).
According to CBS, the AI grandma operates by listening to scammers and transcribing their speech into text. The AI then searches its extensive database for appropriate responses, which are subsequently converted back into speech for Daisy to reply. This all happens within seconds.
Mr. Murray MacKenzie, Director of Fraud Prevention at Virgin Media O2, stated that the company is committed to stopping scammers by investing in firewalls and AI tools to detect robocalls to protect customers.
Virgin Media O2 also mentioned that they have collaborated with specialists in responding to scam networks, connecting their phone numbers to this AI tool.
