AI chatbot protects potential fraud victims by wasting scammers’ time

An email chatbot strikes up a conversation with fraudsters, taking their time away from targeting vulnerable people.

The internet is a minefield of scams and viruses, and users must be mindful of the potential dangers when navigating their way through the web. New Zealand-based online safety organization Netsafe has created Re:scam, an artificially intelligent chatbot, to distract potential fraudsters from preying on the vulnerable. Instead of junking or deleting a scam email, internet users can now forward it to Re:scam who will continue the conversation indefinitely, or until the scammer stops replying.

Re:scam can take on multiple personas, imitating real human tendencies with humour and grammatical errors, and can engage with infinite scammers at once, meaning it can continue an email conversation for as long as possible. Re:scam turns the tables on scammers by wasting their time, and ultimately damages scammers from making a profit.

Chatbots are becoming an increasingly popular business tool, with them being used to help care for the elderly in Singapore and assist asylum seekers in preparing for job interviews. How could utilising chatbots in your business make time for other urgent work?