Virgin Media O2 has unveiled an innovative AI-powered solution to combat the growing fraud epidemic: Daisy, an AI “grandmother” designed to waste scammers’ time through realistic, rambling conversations. The telecommunications company launched this state-of-the-art chatbot after research revealed that 71% of Brits wanted to retaliate against scammers but lacked the time to engage in “scambaiting” themselves.
Scambaiting is the practice of intentionally engaging with scammers to waste their time and resources, preventing them from targeting real victims. While this has become a popular online content genre, it requires significant time investment from individuals. Daisy automates this process, using advanced AI models that work together to listen and respond to fraudulent calls instantaneously.
The AI chatbot was developed in partnership with Jim Browning, one of YouTube’s most successful scambaiters with over 4.3 million subscribers. Browning is renowned for his ability to convincingly portray a confused victim, frustrating scammers and exposing their tactics. His expertise helped train Daisy to achieve remarkably lifelike interactions.
According to Virgin Media O2, Daisy has proven highly effective, successfully keeping fraudsters on calls for up to 40 minutes at a time. The AI grandmother engages scammers with human-like rambling conversations, effectively removing them from circulation and protecting potential real victims during that time.
The timing of this innovation is critical, as scam-related losses have reached epidemic proportions globally. In the United States alone, almost 1 in 3 Americans have fallen victim to scams in the past year, with average individual losses of $1,600, according to IPX, a financial analysis firm. The Federal Trade Commission reported that consumers lost more than $10 billion to online scams last year.
Murray Mackenzie, director of fraud at Virgin Media O2, emphasized the dual purpose of the initiative: “Daisy is turning the tables on scammers — outsmarting and outmaneuvering them at their own cruel game simply by keeping them on the line. 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.”
The AI system represents a novel application of artificial intelligence technology in consumer protection, demonstrating how AI can be deployed defensively to combat cybercrime and fraud at scale.
Key Quotes
This state-of-the-art AI Granny’s mission is to talk with fraudsters and waste as much of their time as possible with human-like rambling chat to keep them away from real people while highlighting the need for consumers to stay vigilant as the UK faces a fraud epidemic.
Virgin Media O2’s official statement explaining Daisy’s purpose and functionality, emphasizing both the protective aspect and the public awareness component of the initiative.
Daisy is turning the tables on scammers — outsmarting and outmaneuvering them at their own cruel game simply by keeping them on the line.
Murray Mackenzie, director of fraud at Virgin Media O2, describing how the AI chatbot reverses the typical scammer-victim dynamic by using their own tactics against them.
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.
Murray Mackenzie highlighting the educational value of the project, using the AI’s deceptive capabilities to remind consumers that scammers similarly misrepresent themselves.
Our Take
Daisy represents an ingenious application of AI that flips the script on a growing criminal industry. What’s particularly clever is how Virgin Media O2 has essentially automated vigilante justice in a way that’s both legal and scalable. The partnership with Jim Browning shows smart thinking—leveraging human expertise to train AI for specialized tasks.
However, this raises interesting questions about the AI arms race in fraud. As defensive AI becomes more sophisticated, scammers will likely develop their own AI countermeasures to detect and avoid bots like Daisy. We may be witnessing the beginning of AI-versus-AI warfare in the fraud space.
The 40-minute engagement time is impressive and demonstrates genuine conversational capability. This technology could potentially be adapted for other applications—customer service training, social engineering awareness, or even therapeutic companionship. The “AI grandmother” persona is particularly effective, as it plays into scammers’ typical target demographic while subverting their expectations. This creative approach to AI deployment deserves recognition as both innovative and socially beneficial.
Why This Matters
Daisy represents a significant shift in how AI technology can be weaponized against cybercriminals rather than being exploited by them. As scammers increasingly use AI to enhance their operations—from deepfake voice cloning to sophisticated phishing campaigns—this initiative demonstrates how the same technology can level the playing field for consumers and businesses.
The $10 billion in annual losses from online scams in the US alone highlights the massive economic impact of fraud, making automated defense mechanisms increasingly necessary. Traditional approaches to fraud prevention focus on detection and education, but Daisy introduces a proactive, offensive strategy that directly disrupts scammer operations by consuming their most valuable resource: time.
This development also signals broader trends in AI application—moving beyond productivity tools and content generation toward practical solutions for real-world problems. The collaboration between a major telecommunications company and a popular content creator demonstrates how AI development can benefit from domain expertise in unexpected ways. As fraud tactics become more sophisticated, scalable AI-powered countermeasures like Daisy may become essential components of consumer protection strategies, potentially inspiring similar applications across banking, e-commerce, and other fraud-vulnerable sectors.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-grandmother-daisy-scambait-online-scams-2024-11