AI Bots Are Turning the Tables on Phone Scammers

Anti-fraud programs are increasingly deploying AI bots to keep phone scammers occupied and to gather details about their operations. The Australian company Apate operates roughly 350,000 bots that pose as potential victims across calls, texts, and online chat groups. The company says it has collected more than 250,000 pieces of intelligence, including scam links, money mule accounts, and bank information.

Apate, named for a Greek deity of deceit, spent two years building a system that sends phone fraudsters to AI personas. These bots sustain conversations without being fooled, aiming to waste scammers’ time and collect information. Used by banks and supported by telecom firms, it runs about 350,000 bots across calls, texts, and online chat groups.

The company says it has gathered over 250,000 real-time intelligence items, including fraudulent links, accounts for moving illicit funds, and banking data. Bots differ in personality, language, and profile, sometimes answering, sometimes hanging up. Apate says calls can exceed two hours; in a demo, journalists posing as scammers failed to persuade an AI persona to invest in cryptocurrency after six minutes.