Apate AI Agents Infiltrate Scam Networks After $8.15M Seed Round
Apate's AI agents bait scammers across calls, email and social platforms, exposing fraud data after 2.5 million conversations and raising $8.15 million.
Summary
Founded in 2024 from CEO Dali Kaafar’s Macquarie University research in Sydney, Apate.ai deploys thousands of AI agents posing as potential victims across calls, messages, email, phishing links and social groups. Inspired by Kaafar keeping a scam caller occupied for 44 minutes, the agents use varied identities, accents and languages to extract bank accounts, crypto wallets, phone numbers, malicious websites and impersonated brands before fraud succeeds. Banks, telecoms, government agencies and utilities receive the intelligence through an analytics portal and can assign missions targeting specific details. Apate combines frontier and fine-tuned models trained on scam conversations and Kaafar’s research.
Apate says its agents have consumed 17 years of scammers’ time in 2.5 million conversations. TPG Telecom has diverted nearly 590,000 calls to them, Commonwealth Bank of Australia has seen publicly reported scam losses fall 76%, and an unnamed Australian bank used outbound agents to disrupt 22 campaigns. The FBI received more than 22,000 AI crime complaints in 2025, representing about $893 million in losses, including over $632 million from investment scams. Apate’s 20-person team raised $8.15 million in August from Lobby Capital, OIF Ventures, Investible, Concept Ventures and Baobab Ventures, bringing total funding to just under $10 million. It plans product development, a London office and greater U.S. expansion.
Positives
- 2.5 million scam conversations have occupied fraudsters for a combined 17 years while generating actionable intelligence.
- Nearly 590,000 calls diverted by TPG Telecom have been handled by Apate’s artificial victims.
- Commonwealth Bank of Australia has seen a 76% decline in publicly reported scam losses.
- 22 scam campaigns were disrupted by an unnamed Australian bank using Apate’s outbound agents.
- $8.15 million raised in August will fund product development and expansion into London and the U.S.
Risks & concerns
- More than 22,000 AI crime complaints received by the FBI in 2025 were linked to about $893 million in losses.
- Over $632 million of the FBI’s recorded losses came from investment scams using AI conversations and deepfakes.
- Blocked phone numbers offer limited protection because scammers can quickly obtain replacements.
- Bank transaction monitoring can begin only after scammers have already contacted potential victims.