Virgin Media O2 to roll out free AI-powered spam-fighting tools to help protect customers from fraud

• New partnership with spam and fraud call leaders, Hiya, will see AI powered spam-fighting tools and enhanced caller identification services rolled out for free to all customers.
• Adaptive AI will block known fraudulent calls and provide customers with more information about callers before they answer the phone.
• The service will run alongside Virgin Media O2’s existing fraud protection services, including firewall technology which has blocked more than 89 million fraudulent texts from reaching customers in 2023. 

Virgin Media O2 will roll out AI-powered spam fighting tools and new caller identification services to all mobile customers for free to help protect them from fraud, thanks to 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, uses Adaptive AI to analyse call number behaviour 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 even rings.

In addition, Virgin Media O2 will also roll out Hiya’s advanced caller identification service, Hiya Connect, which will allow companies to add identity information to their calls with their company name, logo, call purpose and location, so recipients immediately know who is calling and why. This is projected to benefit businesses by providing their customers with greater peace of mind when receiving their calls and making it more likely someone will answer.

The news follows extensive investment from Virgin Media O2 in recent years to keep its customers safe from fraud, with the new tools and services due to run alongside existing fraud protection measures. This includes spam text AI-powered technology which has prevented more than 89 million fraudulent texts from reaching customers in 2023 alone.

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

“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.”

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.”

Phone spam and fraud are persistent challenges for telco carriers worldwide. In the UK alone, 28% of unknown calls were spam according to the latest Hiya study – and nearly 10% of those were fraud calls. With scammers constantly evolving their methods and looking for new ways to gain personal information from customers, Virgin Media O2 is urging all mobile customers to report suspicious texts for free by forwarding them on to 7726.

By forwarding on scam texts, customers can protect themselves and others from fraud. The telecoms company is not only able to investigate and block the mobile numbers used by fraudsters, but also use the scam texts to help refine its blocking services, making it easier to identify new trends and block messages faster.

Notes to Eds

About Virgin Media O2

Formed in 2021 as a joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefonica, Virgin Media O2 has more than 46 million UK connections across its award-winning broadband, mobile, TV and home phone services. Its own fixed network currently has 16.4 million premises serviceable alongside a mobile network that covers 99% of the nation’s population with 4G, and more than 3,200 towns and cities with 5G services.

About Hiya

Hiya is trusted by global businesses, carriers, and consumers to provide secure, engaging connections and stop unwanted calls. Built on the world’s leading Voice Security Platform, Hiya connects businesses with their customers, helps carriers secure their networks, and protects people from spam and fraud calls. Hiya’s SaaS applications, Hiya Connect and Hiya Protect, serve more than 250 million users on the Hiya Network, powering call protection and identity for AT&T, Samsung, Ericsson and more. Learn more at www.hiya.com.