Microsoft is working on a new service called Azure Operator Call Protection that analyzes real-time conversations and can alert the user if the caller seems suspicious. This technology, which uses AI, could be very useful in preventing phone scams.
According to CNET, Microsoft has been testing the program with BT Group and is showcasing how the technology works at the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona. The announcement comes at a time when spam calls continue to be a persistent problem. In a study analyzing 98 billion phone calls worldwide, the Hiya platform found that the average user receives about 14 spam calls per month.
Azure Operator Call Protection, which uses AI to detect signals that a call may be fraudulent throughout a conversation, is a service that Microsoft will offer as an option to mobile operators for their subscribers. According to Shawn Hakl, Vice President of 5G Strategy for Microsoft’s Azure for Operators program, these indicators could include language that encourages the recipient to provide confidential information over the phone.
“The good news is that this also reinforces the good practices that people usually overlook,” said Hakl. Among the most common scams are fake calls pretending to be from Amazon, insurance providers, and credit card companies, as well as scammers trying to deceive the user into providing Medicare information, according to Hiya. Hakl also states that the AI model will evolve over time as new types of threats emerge.
The introduction of Azure Operator Call Protection could be a major inconvenience for wrongdoers who want to use AI to carry out their phone scams. Recently, the Federal Communications Commission of the United States took strong action against automated calls (robocalls) by considering fraudulent calls made with artificially generated voices to be illegal.
