Meet Daisy: The AI Granny Who Scams the Scammers

If you’ve ever wished you could give phone scammers a taste of their own medicine without wasting your own time, meet Daisy.

She’s a tireless conversationalist, a relentless time-waster, and best of all, she’s not even real.

Daisy is an AI-powered tool created by UK mobile operator Virgin Media O2 to battle scammers by giving them the runaround—literally.

How Daisy Fights Back

Daisy’s secret weapon? She sounds just like a sweet elderly lady with plenty of time and stories to share. When scammers dial certain numbers linked to Daisy, they’re connected to this AI-powered “granny,” who chats them up about her fictitious family, hobbies, or even shares fake bank details.

The goal? Waste as much of the scammer’s time as possible and keep them away from real victims.

Virgin Media O2 cleverly added Daisy’s numbers to the same lists scammers use to target vulnerable individuals, tricking fraudsters into thinking they’ve hit the jackpot.

Little do they know, Daisy’s entire purpose is to outlast them on the phone, frustrating their attempts to defraud actual people.

In some cases, Daisy kept scammers on the line for up to 40 minutes—talk about commitment!

Virgin Media O2’s Murray Mackenzie says this initiative complements their broader efforts to protect customers, including scam text blockers and AI-powered spamSpam refers to unwanted messages, usually emails, that are sent in bulk to many people. These messag... More call detection.

The Inspiration Behind Daisy

Virgin Media O2 got the idea for Daisy after a survey found that 71% of Brits would love to get back at scammers—without having to lift a finger themselves.

Enter Daisy: a blend of advanced AIArtificial Intelligence (AI) is basically when computers get smart—really smart. Imagine if your c... More models and scam-baiting expertise from YouTuberA YouTuber is an individual who creates and uploads videos to YouTube, the popular online video-shar... More Jim Browning.

Daisy transcribes scammers’ voices into text, analyzes what they’re saying, and crafts witty, time-wasting replies in real-time. All of this happens without any human intervention, making Daisy a 24/7 scammer’s nightmare.

Daisy’s Global Cousins

Daisy isn’t alone in the fight against fraud. Last year, Australian cybersecurityCybersecurity is a critical field dedicated to safeguarding digital systems, networks, and data from... More experts developed a similar AI tool called Apate, named after the Greek goddess of deceit.

Like Daisy, Apate uses ChatGPT-style technology paired with voice cloning to engage scammers in long, meaningless conversations.

It’s a global effort to beat scammers at their own game, one wasted phone call at a time.

Why Seniors Are Prime Targets

While tools like Daisy are great for throwing scammers off their game, the unfortunate reality is that scammers often target seniors because they perceive them as more trusting or less tech-savvy. That makes it more important than ever to recognize the threat these fraudsters pose.

Scammers have evolved from simple phishingPhishing involves cyber thieves creating fake communications, often appearing as emails from trusted... More emails to highly convincing phone calls. They can spoof phone numbers to make it look like they’re calling from legitimate businesses, pressure you into sharing personal information, or even trick you into transferring money.

Tips to Outsmart Scammers

Protecting yourself doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are a few quick tips to keep you safe:

1. Never answer calls from unknown numbers. If it’s important, they’ll leave a voicemail.
2. Don’t give personal or financial information over the phone. Legitimate organizations won’t ask for these details in unsolicited calls.
3. Be skeptical of urgency. Scammers love to create a sense of panic—don’t fall for it.
4. Block and report scam numbers. Most smartphones have built-in tools to block unwanted calls.
5. Educate yourself about common scams. Knowledge is your best defense.

Fantastic Work

While Daisy and tools like her are doing fantastic work, the fight against scammers ultimately requires vigilance.

Scams are growing more sophisticated, and seniors remain a key target. By staying cautious and informed, you can outsmart even the most persistent fraudsters.

So next time the phone rings and you don’t recognize the number, let it go to voicemail.

Better yet, imagine their next call is to Daisy. And she’ll keep those scammers busy with a tale about her 17 cats and her favorite hobby: wasting their time.