Meet dAIsy, the scam-fighting AI bot

Online scams that try to trick you into revealing sensitive information can cause huge problems when they work. But even failed attempts can be extremely annoying and time-consuming. More than one in five people in the UK (22%) report experiencing a fraud attempt every single week, according to an O2 survey.

And while 71% of Brits would like to get their own back against scammers that have tried to trick them or their loved ones, a reluctance to waste their own time ranked as the top reason why they wouldn’t bait scammers themselves. 

We’re investing heavily in the fight against fraud, rolling out AI-powered spam-fighting tools and new caller identification services to all mobile customers at no extra cost to help protect them. We also block millions of fraudulent texts and calls from reaching customers phones every month. 

And now we’ve created a state-of-the-art Conversational AI bot programmed to speak with scammers on the phoneline for as long as possible. That wastes their time and keeps them away from customers. That’s what dAIsy, the scam-fighting AI bot, is here to do. 

When we launched dAIsy, we scattered the bot’s details across the internet to attract scam callers to a mobile number she operates. The interactions dAIsy has with scammers have been recorded and compiled to create a video designed to kick-start a wider campaign raising awareness about the methods scammers use. 

Influencer and former Love Islander Amy Hart, herself a victim of the scammers, has appeared in the video and is backing the campaign, working with dAIsy to expose fraudsters’ crooked tactics and help O2 customers swerve the scammers.  

“I know first-hand just how sophisticated nasty fraudsters can be,” Amy says. “That’s why I’ve teamed up with O2 and AI Scambaiter dAIsy to take the fight back to them, keeping them busy with calls going nowhere.

But whilst I love a wind up, it’s scary to see the lengths scammers go to steal everything from passwords to bank details regardless of who they’re speaking to. Whether your young or old, anyone can be a victim of a scam that’s why we can never be too careful when it comes to unexpected calls or texts. If you have even the tiniest doubt about who you’re speaking to, the best thing to do is to hang up the phone and call back on a trusted number.”

Since being installed as O2’s Head of Scammer Relations, dAIsy has taken more than 1,000 calls from scammers. Here are the top three things dAIsy’s discovered.

1. Most scammers work in call centres using scripts

Fraudsters are operating from call centres specifically set up to target victims. On multiple occasions, dAIsy heard the same well-rehearsed lines from different scammers. Fraudsters even began to recognise her, indicating they’re operating together and sharing knowledge.

In one instance, dAIsy was passed to four different fraudsters in one single call. Passing you over to a “supervisor” who escalates the issue is one way scammers seek to make themselves seem legit – surely a fraudster wouldn’t have a supervisor, right? In fact, scamming people is a full-time job. Don’t be fooled…

2. Scammers impersonate trusted companies and use high-pressure tactics

Scammers would often claim to be from well-known retailers, banks, delivery companies and the government – well-known and trusted organisations that consumers deal with regularly. Once the fraudsters believed dAIsy trusted them, they would employ high-pressure tactics such as threatening the imminent loss of money or claiming dAIsy’s computer had been hacked.

3. Unlike real employees, scammers will get frustrated and angry 

Scam callers would typically start off friendly and personable in tone but the longer they spent on the phone they’d quickly begin to show their true colours, particularly if dAIsy failed to follow their instructions or went off on a tangent about her cat. Rude and aggressive behaviour is a clear sign that you are talking to a scammer. For a bank or legitimate retailer, there would be no benefit in getting angry with you.

While dAIsy continues working hard to keep the scammers away and find out more about how they operate, you can protect yourself by following our smart advice. Remember: always be wary of offers that seem too good to be true; never enter payment details unless you’re sure the company asking for them is legit; watch out for rogue confirmation or delivery messages from dodgy sources; and never shop on public WiFi networks.  

And you can play your part in helping us bust scams too. If ever you receive a scam call or text, you can report it to 7726 (it literally spells SPAM) for free. We’ll investigate and potentially block the number, which should waste the scammer’s time and ruin their day. See how they like it.