{"version":1,"type":"story","url":"https://digestai.news/story/australian-firm-apate-uses-ai-bots-to-waste-scammers-time-and-gather-i","json":"https://digestai.news/story/australian-firm-apate-uses-ai-bots-to-waste-scammers-time-and-gather-i.json","markdown":"https://digestai.news/story/australian-firm-apate-uses-ai-bots-to-waste-scammers-time-and-gather-i.md","slug":"australian-firm-apate-uses-ai-bots-to-waste-scammers-time-and-gather-i","headline":"Australian firm Apate uses AI bots to waste scammers’ time and gather intel","summary":"Apate, an Australian company, has for two years built an AI-driven system to disrupt phone scammers by deploying bots that mimic real victims. The platform, used by banks and telecoms, currently runs 350,000 bots that answer calls, infiltrate scam chat groups, and respond to texts. These bots collect over 250,000 pieces of fraudster intelligence—including scam URLs, money mule accounts, and bank details—while keeping scammers engaged for hours, wasting their resources and delaying attacks on real victims.\n\nThe bots use varied personalities, language skills, and profiles to avoid detection. Testing by *Wired* found the system convincing, with scammers unable to trick the AI into investing in fake schemes even after six minutes. While AI-powered honeypots and scambaiting have existed for years, Apate’s approach scales massively, leveraging automation to counter the billions of scam messages and calls sent annually. Researchers at ETH Zurich confirm that LLM-powered honeypots keep attackers engaged longer, making them harder to distinguish from real systems.","keyPoints":["Apate’s AI bots waste scammers’ time by mimicking real victims, delaying attacks on actual people","350,000 bots collect 250,000+ data points on fraudsters, including scam URLs and bank details","ETH Zurich research shows LLM-powered honeypots keep attackers engaged significantly longer"],"whyItMatters":"AI-driven deception tools like Apate’s could shift the balance in cybersecurity by overwhelming scammers with fake leads, freeing up real victims and law enforcement resources. If scaled, this approach may reduce the efficiency of large-scale scam operations reliant on automated outreach.","category":{"slug":"society","name":"Society & Work","url":"https://digestai.news/category/society"},"entities":{"companies":["Apate","ETH Zurich","Wired"],"models":[],"people":["Dali Kaafar","Mark Vero"]},"firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-10T12:00:00Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-10T12:00:00Z","sourceCount":1,"hasPrimarySource":false,"sources":[{"outlet":"Wired AI","title":"AI Is Getting Really Good at Messing With Cybercriminals","url":"https://wired.com/story/ai-is-getting-really-good-at-messing-with-cybercriminals","publishedAt":"2026-10-10T12:00:00Z","type":"press","primary":false,"lead":true}],"sourceNotes":null,"discussions":[],"thread":null,"cite":{"text":"Digest AI, \"Australian firm Apate uses AI bots to waste scammers’ time and gather intel\", 10 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/australian-firm-apate-uses-ai-bots-to-waste-scammers-time-and-gather-i","publisher":"Digest AI","title":"Australian firm Apate uses AI bots to waste scammers’ time and gather intel","datePublished":"2026-10-10T12:00:00Z","url":"https://digestai.news/story/australian-firm-apate-uses-ai-bots-to-waste-scammers-time-and-gather-i"},"generatedBy":"Written by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources; the sources are the record.","license":"Headlines, digests and key points are written by Digest AI and may be quoted with a link to the story page. Linked articles belong to their publishers. Terms: https://digestai.news/terms#reuse"}