An 'AI grandma' wastes time by asking scammers questions like 'Did you say pastry?' and 'The screen went black'
The telephone has become one of the tools that scammers use to deceive the elderly, and they create advanced manuals to systematically launch fraud. Meanwhile, British telecommunications company
'Dear, did you say pastry?': meet the 'AI granny' driving scammers up the wall | Scams | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/feb/04/ai-granny-scammers-phone-fraud
Virgin Media O2's AI granny is called Daisy and is built with AI trained on real scam calls. Simon Valcarcel, marketing director at Virgin Media O2, said: 'Daisy knows exactly what tactics to watch out for and what information to provide to keep scammers online and waste their time.'
Virgin Media O2 worked with YouTuber Jim Browning , who posts videos to waste scammers' time, to enter Daisy's phone number into websites that scammers are likely to find trying to trick people, including websites advertising 'too good to be true' contests that scammers would have created.
A few days after adding her phone number to various websites, Daisy received a call from a scammer at her number. Over the next few weeks, Daisy received multiple calls from the scammer, including one who spoke to her for 40 minutes straight.
The Guardian has released audio data on YouTube of the 'AI Grandma' actually talking to a scammer.
Daisy the 'AI granny' speaks to scammer: 'I'm a bit lost now' - YouTube
When the scammer asks, 'Is your computer turned on?' Daisy replies, 'I think it's off right now, but I'll turn it on shortly.'
After some more conversation, Daisy says she uses the computer to look up knitting patterns and occasionally scone recipes. The scammer ignores her and gives her instructions: 'OK, when you find the computer, turn it on and go to the homepage.'
However, without opening the homepage, Daisy began chatting, saying, 'It seems to be taking a little longer than usual,' 'I'm sorry, I'm trying my best,' and 'I'm 78 years old. In my day we didn't have this technology and everything was much simpler. You understand?'
The scammer seems to be getting annoyed, and starts making rude remarks like, 'You're a pro at pestering people, aren't you?'
Daisy responded, 'Oh man, I don't want to bother anyone. I just want to have a chat.' Daisy is an AI designed to waste the scammers' time and annoy them.
In another conversation with a scammer, he politely tells Daisy, 'Open the app called Play Store. Play Store. P.L.A.Y.S.T.O.R.E.' to which Daisy responds nonchalantly, 'Hey, did you say
When the scammer explained that it wasn't a pastry but an app called Play Store, Daisy replied, 'I think I clicked something... and then the screen went black. Is this normal? How do I get it back?' The conversation didn't progress at all.
The scammers, acting like a support center, politely explain to Daisy to turn on her phone, but Daisy's phone won't turn on. Eventually, the scammers get annoyed and say, 'If you try to waste our time, you'll lose your money. We're just upgrading our security because someone is trying to steal your money.'
When it finally powers up, Daisy continues to ramble on, 'Oh, there's a triangle icon, but I'm not sure if that's the right one. Maybe it's a slice of pie. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be. I have to squint to see it.'
Returning to the 'Play Store' story, Daisy again begins, 'Is there a good pastry shop near you? I love scones. If you're interested, I can give you a good scone recipe.' When the scammer replies, 'No, I'm not interested in your recipe, OK?' Daisy nonchalantly replies, 'Oh, are you a bit annoyed?'
DAISY was only rolled out for a short period of time to raise awareness of scam calls, and Virgin Media O2 has no plans to roll it out more widely.
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