Virgin Media O2 will provide all mobile customers with free AI-powered spam-fighting tools and new caller identification services to help protect them from fraud, through a new partnership with voice security leader, Hiya.
The Hiya Protect service, which will be rolled out in the background to all consumer customers in the coming months, employs Adaptive AI to analyze call number behavior to determine whether to flag a call to the customer as suspected spam or block it as fraud, preventing it from reaching customers' phones before it rings.
Virgin Media O2 will also launch Hiya's advanced caller identification service, Hiya Connect, which will allow businesses to add identity information to their calls, such as their company name, logo, call purpose, and location, so recipients know who is calling and why. This is expected to benefit businesses by giving their customers more peace of mind when receiving phone calls and increasing the likelihood that someone will answer.
The announcement follows Virgin Media O2's extensive investment in recent years to protect its customers from fraud, with the new tools and services set to supplement existing fraud protection measures. This includes spam text AI-powered technology, which has prevented over 89 million fraudulent texts from reaching customers by 2023 alone.
Murray Mackenzie, Director of Fraud at Virgin Media O2, stated, "In the fight against fraud, we’re committed to rolling out the latest technology to help keep our customers safe. From AI tools that 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."
Kush Parikh, President of Hiya, said, “We are proud to provide our spam and fraud solution and branded calling service to Virgin Media O2, a company known for its exceptional service throughout the UK. Carriers around the world are wrestling with how to prevent phone spam and scams, and protect the reputation of business customers. Hiya is doing its part to restore confidence in voice calling by aligning with leaders like Virgin Media O2."
