Virgin Media O2 has launched an AI-powered service to fight spam calls and give customers more information about callers before they answer the phone.

The service, operated in partnership with voice security firm Hiya, will run alongside Virgin Media O2’s existing fraud production services.

It uses adaptive AI to determine whether to flag a call as suspected spam or block it as fraud, preventing it from reaching a customer’s phone before it rings.

Additionally, Virgin Media O2 will roll out a caller identification service called Hiya Connect which allows companies to add identity information to their calls such as a name, logo or call purpose. Virgin Media O2 said this will give customers peace of mind when answering calls and make it more likely that they will be answered.

Virgin Media O2 estimates its existing firewall technology blocked more than 89 million fraudulent texts from reaching customers in 2023.

According to a study from Hiya, over a quarter of unknown calls were spam and around ten per cent of these were fraud calls.

“In the fight against fraud, we’re committed to rolling out the latest technology to help keep our customers safe,” said Murray Mackenzie, director of Fraud at Virgin Media O2. “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.”

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