How Savi’s App Aims to Protect Consumers from Realistic AI Scams

The Coughlin brothers’ venture, Savi Security, is a timely reminder of the evolving threat landscape in cybercrime. Recent incidents, including a harrowing phone call to Patrick Coughlin’s mother claiming his sister had been kidnapped, demonstrate how easily AI can be used to perpetrate convincing con jobs.

According to the FTC’s 2025 report, imposter scams have tripled since 2020, resulting in a staggering $3.5 billion loss. Younger generations, including Gen Z, are particularly susceptible to these tactics, with research suggesting they’re falling prey to text scams at an alarming rate (25% of the time). This is not merely a case of digital naivety; it’s a symptom of a broader shift in the cybercrime economy.

The proliferation of cheap and powerful LLMs has democratized access to sophisticated AI tools, allowing amateur scammers to create convincing narratives and convincingly spoof voices. As a result, the nature of cybercrime has transformed from a high-stakes game for organized syndicates to an accessible playground for everyday con artists.

Savi’s solution lies in developing real-time intervention tools that employ AI to detect and prevent scams. Their Scam Wise website, launched four months ago, has already received 50,000 submissions, demonstrating the appetite for this type of service. The Savi app, which recently launched, promises live-call monitoring capabilities that can identify behavioral tells indicative of a scam.

While Savi’s features may seem similar to existing products, their approach is distinct in its focus on AI-driven detection and prevention. By leveraging Google’s Gemini and building an AI gateway that taps other models as needed, Savi has created a cutting-edge solution that could potentially disrupt the status quo in cybercrime mitigation.

However, this also raises questions about the unintended consequences of relying on AI to combat AI-generated scams. As Coughlin noted, “We’re creating fraudsters because we’re bringing down the barrier of deceiving people.” This concern goes beyond just cybersecurity; it speaks to the broader societal implications of our increasing reliance on AI.

The Savi story serves as a stark reminder that our current defenses are woefully inadequate in the face of this evolving threat landscape. We must re-examine our assumptions about what constitutes an “expert” and begin to develop new strategies for mitigating these types of attacks. The Coughlin brothers’ venture is a beacon of hope, but it also serves as a warning: we’re playing with fire when we enable AI-powered scams to flourish.

As the stakes continue to rise, one thing is clear: we can no longer afford to treat cybercrime as an isolated problem or rely on outdated solutions. The scamming singularity has arrived, and it’s time for us to adapt – or risk being left behind in a world where AI-generated con jobs are the new normal.