Virgin Media O2 rolls out AI-powered spam-fighting tools to protect customers
Virgin Media O2 will roll out a new AI-powered spam fighting tool and call identification services to all mobile customers for free to help protect them from fraud thanks to a new partnership with voice security leader, Hiya.
Rolling out to customers in the coming months, the Hiya Protect service uses Adaptive AI to analyse call number behaviour to determine whether to flag a call to the customer as suspected spam or block it as fraud, preventing it from reaching customers before their phone even rings.
Virgin Media O2 will also roll out Hiya’s advanced caller identification service, Hiya Connect, which will allow companies to add identity information to their calls with their company name, logo, call purpose and location, so recipients know exactly who is calling and why. This is projected to benefit businesses by providing their customers with greater peace of mind when receiving calls and making it more likely that someone will answer.
Murray Mackenzie, Director of Fraud at Virgin Media O2, said: “In the fight against fraud, we’re committed to rolling out the latest technology to help keep our customers safe.
“From AI tools to help us block fraudulent calls, to services that help identify callers before a customer has even picked up the phone, our extensive partnership with Hiya will see us continue to improve on our existing measures and give customers’ additional protection from spam and fraudsters.”
Virgin Media O2 has made extensive investments in recent years to keep its customers safe from fraud. These new tools and services will run alongside other existing fraud protection measures, including AI-powered technology that prevented more than 89 million fraudulent texts from reaching customers in 2023 alone.
Phone spam and fraud are persistent challenges for telco carriers worldwide. In the UK, 28% of unknown calls in the last three months of 2023 were spam according to the latest Hiya study – and nearly 10% of those were fraud calls.
When it comes to scam text messages, Virgin Media O2 is urging customers to report suspicious texts for free by forwarding them to 7726. Forwarding on these messages helps customers to protect themselves and others from fraud. Virgin Media O2 can investigate and block the mobile numbers used by fraudsters and also use the scam texts to help refine its blocking services and help them identify new trends and block messages faster.
Visit Virgin Media O2 to find out more.
