Fighting Back on Scams: Protecting Consumers on Mobile | Global Anti-Scam Summit London 2025

Date of Event: 26–27 March 2025

Event: Global Anti-Scam Summit London 2025

This session spotlighted telecom-driven innovation to protect consumers from scams, particularly on mobile networks. Olli Bliss from F-Secure opened with a detailed breakdown of how AI is being used to block scams at the source. He showcased tools that work across SMS, email, and messaging platforms to prevent fraud before the user even sees a message.

James Harwood of Virgin Media O2 presented the story of Daisy, an AI-powered character trained to engage scammers and waste their time. Daisy’s viral success demonstrated how humour and technology can raise public awareness. Harwood also highlighted Call Defence, a feature that labels scam calls, reducing both answer rates and call duration.

Brian Webb from BT shared a wide-ranging overview of telco protections, including initiatives to block spoofed international calls, enforce SMS sender trust, and detect botnet traffic. He emphasised the importance of public-private data sharing and continuous adaptation.

Closing the session, Richard Cockle of GSMA introduced Open Gateway, a global API standard that allows real-time fraud signal exchange across mobile networks. He presented examples from the UK, Brazil, and South Africa, underlining the need for interoperability and collaboration.