{
  "id": 13402101,
  "title": "AI Is Getting Really Good at Messing With Cybercriminals",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/ai-is-getting-really-good-at-messing-with-cybercriminals",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-10T12:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Wired",
    "slug": "wired",
    "url": "https://www.wired.com/story/ai-is-getting-really-good-at-messing-with-cybercriminals/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "AI technology is increasingly being employed to combat cybercriminals, with one Australian company, Apate, leading the charge. Founded by Dali Kaafar, Apate's platform deploys AI bots to lure scammers into lengthy conversations without falling for their scams. These bots collect valuable intelligence on fraudulent activities, including scam URLs, money mule accounts, and bank details. The bots are designed with different personalities, language skills, and profiles to make them appear authentic, often maintaining conversations for over two hours. Tests conducted by Kernel Panic demonstrated the efficiency of Apate's system, which was able to engage scammers convincingly. While cybercriminals continue to launch billions of messages and calls annually, the use of AI in anti-scam efforts offers a promising solution. By wasting scammers' time and resources, AI could potentially disrupt their operations and hinder their ability to launch further attacks.",
  "summary": "Anti-cybercrime initiatives are increasingly using AI to scam the scammers by tricking them into talking to lifelike bots that they think are real victims.",
  "key_points": [
    "Australian company Apate uses AI bots to combat cybercriminals",
    "Bots engage scammers in lengthy conversations to gather intel",
    "AI disrupts scammers' operations by wasting their time and resources"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}