A 'cat and mouse' artificial intelligence tool designed to trick scammers is being reinstated by Netsafe as part of a suite of cutting-edge advancements to enhance New Zealanders' online safety.
ReScam.org, an innovative AI system designed to waste scammers' time, is being brought back by Netsafe after it was first developed in 2017.
The tool works by initiating a never-ending conversation with a scammer, utilising multiple personalities and an ever-expanding vocabulary to appear legitimate. The concept hopes to draw the scammer's attention away from other victims and disrupt their schemes.
The process is kickstarted when a suspicious email is forwarded to me@rescam.org, which prompts Netsafe's specialist scam baiting intelligence system to determine any threats and begin the 'cat and mouse' game with the sender.
When ReScam was first introduced seven years ago, the system sent more than a million emails to scammers - wasting a collective total of over five years of their time, Netsafe CEO Brent Carey said on Monday.
"As the rise of scam victims - and the total cost of their losses - persists in New Zealand, Netsafe continues to look for innovative ways to disrupt scammers, launching yet more products and services to prevent and support victims of scams," he said.
Scams continue to cause significant harm and are a growing problem in Aotearoa, costing the economy an estimated $2 billion annually - or 0.85 percent of New Zealand's GDP in 2023. The country's response to scams is trailing those of other OECD regions, Carey said, with calls for banks to invest in technological upgrades.
Carey added that there is currently no Government funding for incident response and victim remediation, despite recent research by Netsafe and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance finding that 53 percent of surveyed New Zealand victims suffered significant emotional impact.
It's estimated only 15 percent of scamming victims who try to recover their money are successful.
Meanwhile, Netsafe is experiencing a rising number of calls to its online safety helpline, which processes around 15,000 scam-related calls from victims each year.
Following the release of Netsafe's State of Scams report at the end of 2023, the independent non-profit has rolled out new anti-scam tools and services each month. These have included the Chorus-funded 'Get Set Up for Safety' toolkit for seniors and commercial alliances with Cybera, Dolla and Akahu. Partnerships within the banking, crypto and telecommunications sectors will give victims more options in trying to recover their losses, Carey said.
"New Zealand's scam prevention and redress model needs the whole ecosystem to be mobilised to combat scams efficiently and effectively," he continued.
"While Netsafe alone cannot bring about regulatory or legislative change, nor do we have the means to deliver banking system technological advancement, we do have 25 years' experience in harm prevention education."
Other moves include hosting a virtual Oceania chapter of the Global Anti Scam Alliance (GASA) meeting on July 30 as part of Netsafety Week and joining the international non-profit Cyber Helpline, which deploys cybersecurity tools, services and programmes. More scam-busting tools are set to be introduced throughout the rest of the year and into 2025.
"We are playing our part to help New Zealanders to navigate the digital landscape safely and confidently," said Carey. "These new initiatives underscore our commitment to innovation, collaboration and proactive action against online scams."
