Apate Deploys 200,000 AI Victims to Bog Down Scammers

Australian technology company Apate uses generative artificial intelligence to create convincing fake victims that engage fraudsters by phone and on messaging platforms. Instead of merely blocking suspicious calls, the system is designed to occupy scammers with realistic conversations, draining the time and labor they would otherwise use to target genuine victims and potentially reducing the productivity of fraud operations.

Apate has now deployed nearly 200,000 AI-powered personas to bait online and telephone scammers at scale. The bots pose as prospective victims and keep fraudsters talking through lifelike, adaptive exchanges. The report did not disclose a deployment date, participating institutions or financial investment, but the size of the rollout marks a shift from experimental scam-baiting toward large-scale automated disruption.