[AI Anti-Fraud from a New Perspective: Actively Getting Scammed to Extract Fraud Intelligence for Regulatory Crackdowns] BlockBeats News, October 17: Australian AI anti-fraud startup Apate.ai (originating from research at Macquarie University in Sydney, founded in 2024) has recently garnered attention. The company deploys between thousands and approximately 350,000 AI agents, disguised as ordinary victims of various ages and accents, to answer scam calls, respond to phishing texts, click on malicious links, and infiltrate scammer group chats around the clock. The core mission is to feign ignorance to stall for time, extract fraudsters' bank account numbers, crypto wallets, fake websites, and other intelligence, and then package this information for banks and telecom companies to block. The company claims to have completed over 2.5 million conversations, occupying approximately 17 years of scammers' working time in total, and has extracted more than 250,000 actionable intelligence items. Its clients include Commonwealth Bank of Australia, TPG Telecom, and others, with some institutions publicly reporting significant reductions in fraud losses. In August 2026, Apate.ai completed an $8.15 million seed funding round (led by Lobby Capital), bringing its total funding to nearly $10 million. The company is advancing global expansion, including setting up a London office and strengthening its presence in the U.S. [Original Article Link]