Revenge is a dish best served piping hot, just like grandma’s soup. Or at least one that LOOKS like grandma. “Fight fire with fire!” they used to say. And they were right: in a world full of phone scammers and annoying robocalls, how many times have you dreamed of having these people talk to your avatar, just to make them waste the time they steal from you?
O2 Virgin Media actually did it in the UK: and created Daisy, a virtual grandmother designed to drive scammers crazy. With her voice indistinguishable from that of a real elderly person, she entertains the harassment and the bad guys in endless conversations, thus protecting potential real victims.
The Grandma Who Never Sleeps
Daisy (or dAIsy, as she is also called) has one precise purpose: to trap scammers in endless conversations. She never gets tired, she doesn't need breaks and, above all, she is ready 24/24. A cyborg grandmother always alert and eager to answer the phone. Everyone's dream.
Her secret weapon? She plays the role of the old, tech-savvy lady to perfection, playing off the very stereotypes that scammers try to use to steal from people. If they ask her to open a website, she starts a long series of questions about which button to press. If they suggest she check her email, she launches into a monologue about the difficulty of remembering passwords. Eroica.
A brilliant tactic against scammers
Daisy’s phone number has been strategically placed on the infamous “chicken lists” used by scammers targeting British consumers. And so, every time they try to call the number thinking they’ve found easy prey, they instead find themselves embroiled in a frustrating and endless conversation.
The scammers become increasingly exasperated as they try to convince Daisy to enter fake web addresses or personal information into the computer. With infinite patience, she takes them on lengthy ramblings that range from her vision problems to the story of her first computer, a Christmas present from her nephew. It's a real spectacle of SOCIAL ENGINEERING in reverse.
The impact on digital security
Murray Mackenzie, Director of the Anti-Fraud Division of Virgin Media O2, explained that this is just one of many tools the company is using to protect its customers. The system is part of a broader strategy that includes advanced firewalls to block scam text messages and AI-based spam call detection systems.
A recent survey revealed that 71% of Britons have been scammed would like to get back at scammers who tried to defraud them or their loved ones. It's an understandable feeling, considering that phone scams cause significant financial and emotional harm, especially among the elderly. Daisy offers this opportunity for retaliation, but without people having to waste their precious time.
How the Infuriating AI Grandma Really Works
The technology behind Daisy is surprisingly sophisticated. The “terrible old lady” doesn’t just play pre-recorded responses, but uses artificial intelligence to maintain natural and contextually appropriate conversations. It can remember details mentioned at the beginning of the call and use them during the conversation, just like a real person would.
Her voice has been carefully crafted to sound authentic, with subtle hesitations, requests for clarification, and even the occasional cough. These details make the interaction incredibly realistic, so much so that scammers don't realize they're talking to a. Diabolical. Watch it in action:
The Future of Fighting Fraud
There is something poetic about seeing an AI posing as a technologically inexperienced grandmother to fight the very people who seek to take advantage of the elderly. It is one of those cases where the most advanced technology is used to protect the most vulnerable.
Daisy is not currently a service we can add to our phone, but its success as an “infiltrator” could pave the way for similar solutions for the general public. I would gladly adopt it, and not only against scammers: even some of my clients with old-fashioned ideas would have to deal with such a nemesis.
And then what?
I like to think that Daisy represents the beginning of a new era in the fight against phone scams. It's not just about blocking unwanted calls, but about turning the tables entirely. It's as if we've found a way to give scammers a taste of their own medicine.
The next time you get a suspicious call, think about Daisy. Somewhere, right now, an artificial grandmother is driving a scammer crazy with an endless conversation about how hard it is to find the send key on a keyboard. And maybe she’s saving someone else.
