The rise of cheap and powerful Large Language Models (LLMs) has made it easier for cybercriminals to create convincing scams that target everyday consumers. Two brothers, Patrick and Ryan Coughlin, have developed a new app called Savi that uses AI-powered detection to identify and prevent such scams.
**A Personal Experience Triggers the Idea**
The inspiration for the company came from a personal experience of the founders’ mother being targeted by an AI-generated scam. The scammer had accurately spoofed their sister’s number, voice, and referenced a local Walmart location. Fortunately, the mom kept her wits and discovered that she was fine. This incident led Patrick Coughlin to think about what has fundamentally changed in the underlying cybercriminal economy.
**The Shift in Cybercrime**
The answer is that AI has made it possible for cybercriminals to leverage the same level of sophistication they used against government agencies and Fortune 500 companies on consumers. The costs of perpetrating such scams have become negligible, and the research material easily available. For example, a voice can be cloned from just three seconds of audio taken from a publicly available social media post.
**The Solution: Savi’s Real-Time Intervention Tool**
The Coughlin brothers’ idea was to develop a real-time intervention tool that could detect AI-generated scams before they cause harm. They tested their idea by launching a free website called Scam Wise, which allows users to upload suspicious texts, photos, or emails for analysis. The website has received over 50,000 submissions in just four months.
**Savi’s Paid Product: An App with Live-Call Monitoring**
Savi’s paid product is an iOS and Android app that screens texts, voicemails, and incoming calls for scams. Its most impressive feature is live-call monitoring, which allows users to add the app’s live agent as a listener during a suspicious phone conversation. The app listens for behavioral tells that can identify if the situation is a grift while the call is in progress.
Savi charges $8/month or $63/year to cover an entire family, with no cap on the number of users. This allows one plan to cover multiple household members and provide administrative support.
**The Rise of AI-Generated Scams: A Growing Concern**
The rise of AI-generated scams has become a significant concern, with the FTC reporting that people collectively lost $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, triple the amount in 2020. Research suggests that Gen Z is also highly susceptible to these types of scams, with some studies indicating they fall for them about 25% of the time.
**Conclusion**
Savi’s app aims to protect consumers from these sophisticated AI-generated scams and provide a sense of security in an increasingly uncertain digital landscape.
Source: Original article