In a delightful twist in the fight against phone scammers, O2 has introduced ‘Daisy,’ an AI-powered ‘granny’ who turns the tables on fraudsters by engaging them in endless, meandering conversations. Developed with insights from renowned scambaiter Jim Browning, Daisy is designed to waste scammers’ time, keeping them on the line for up to 40 minutes with tales of knitting and family anecdotes. 
This initiative is part of Virgin Media O2’s “Swerve the Scammers” campaign, aiming to protect consumers amid a rising fraud epidemic in the UK. Research indicates that 71% of Brits wish to retaliate against scammers, but over half are deterred by the time commitment involved. 
By deploying Daisy, O2 seeks to divert scammers from real victims and educate the public on common fraudulent tactics. Reality TV star Amy Hart, herself a scam victim, has collaborated with Daisy to raise awareness about these schemes. 
O2 encourages customers to remain vigilant and report suspicious calls and texts to 7726. 
In a world where technology often seems to favor the fraudsters, it’s refreshing to see it used to outwit them. With Daisy on the line, scammers might find themselves tangled in their own web of deceit.
Daisy Harris, an A.I.-generated English granny, has been stymying scammers with meandering, time-wasting conversations. But can she actually make a dent in the flood of fraud?
O2 has today unveiled the newest member of its fraud prevention team, ‘Daisy’. As ‘Head of Scammer Relations’, 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.
An A.I. Granny Is Phone Scammers’ Worst Nightmare - The New York Times
O2 unveils Daisy, the AI granny wasting scammers’ time
