Millions of O2 customers warned to watch out for important new alert on their phones – ignoring it could cost you

O2 has deployed a large caller alert that each customers indispensable look retired for connected their phones.

The mobile web has started scanning telephone numbers for imaginable scam calls utilizing AI successful a bid to support users from slope raiding attacks.

Call Defence, powered by dependable information steadfast Hiya, analyses telephone fig behaviour in real-time looking for signs of a fraudster.

Some 16 per cent of Brits fell unfortunate to telephone scams past year, losing an mean of £798 each, according to Hiya's State of the Call report.

O2 says it is the archetypal and lone UK mobile relation to supply this work to customers astatine nary other cost.

The diagnostic volition popup connected screens automatically erstwhile a imaginable dodgy telephone is detected.

It'll rotation retired to Android users and iPhone owners utilizing iOS 18 oregon later.

"Our AI-powered scam and spam telephone detection instrumentality is the latest furniture of defence we’re rolling retired to assistance support our customers from fraudsters," said Murray Mackenzie, Director of Fraud astatine Virgin Media O2.

“We’re the archetypal and lone UK supplier to springiness customers this innovative caller instrumentality for free, which volition show telephone behaviour to supply customers greater clarity connected who is calling and why, perpetually adapting to assistance support 1 measurement up of scammers.

"Whether we’re blocking calls and texts from fraudsters oregon rolling retired Caller ID for trusted businesses, we’re moving hard to halt scammers successful their tracks.

"But with fraudsters everlastingly evolving their tactics, customers tin assistance america enactment 1 measurement up by reporting suspected scam calls and texts to 7726."

The latest effort follows O2's AI granny that's designed to get revenge connected scam callers.

Daisy is simply a talking bot that picks up dodgy calls and wastes scammers' clip with human-like rambling.

The lifelike gran responds to the idiosyncratic connected the different end, talking astir things similar household and knitting successful real-time, arsenic good arsenic providing mendacious idiosyncratic accusation and made-up slope details.

It doesn't observe and intercept scam calls arsenic radical person them.

Instead, O2 has added Daisy's telephone fig to alleged "mugs lists" utilized by scammers targeting UK consumers, helping to discarded their clip alternatively than calling existent people.