A Malaysian entrepreneur has developed an AI chatbot named Scammers On Hold AI (SOHAI) to fight online scammers by wasting their time on WhatsApp.
The chatbot was created by Dylan Tan, founder and CEO of Replyr.ai.
The tool engages scammers in endless, nonsensical conversations to prevent them from targeting real victims.
How it works
Tan introduced his creation in the Entrepreneurs and Startups in Malaysia Facebook group, explaining that users only need to share SOHAI’s phone number with scammers.
Once contacted, the AI responds with random excuses and confusing replies to prolong the chat.
If the scammer stops replying, SOHAI follows up to further waste their time.
The chatbot also records every conversation on a Google Sheets leaderboard, summarizing the time wasted, chat highlights, and the tactics used.
Tan shared screenshots showing SOHAI in action, including conversations in English, Malay, and Mandarin, showcasing its multilingual abilities.
In his post, Tan remarked, “Every minute of scammer time wasted is one less minute of them scamming someone else. Enjoy!”
To use SOHAI, you can simply send a WhatsApp text to this number: https://wa.me/6588591998
Took him only 2-3 days to complete
Speaking to WeirdKaya, Tan revealed that building SOHAI took him only 2-3 days, thanks to Replyr.ai’s existing AI agent technology.
I used the same system we deploy to automate conversations for real businesses.
Since the core system was already in place, adapting it for SOHAI was straightforward,” he explained.
When asked what inspired him to create the chatbot, Tan shared his strong dislike for scammers.
“I hate scammers because they prey on vulnerable people. Almost everyone knows someone who has fallen victim to a scam.
“I realized that despite their reach, scammers aren’t very tech-savvy. They don’t share intelligence with each other and aren’t using AI to trick people.
Their operations still rely on human effort. Every minute they spend chatting with SOHAI is a minute they don’t spend scamming real people,” he further added.
Tan also outlined his plans to expand SOHAI’s capabilities.
He has made it easier to swap numbers and add new accounts, forcing scammers to constantly keep up.
He believes that increased publicity for SOHAI will help collectively frustrate scammers.
Additionally, he revealed that he is now developing new features to waste even more of their time, such as sending files that won’t open, fake transaction receipts, and other distractions to keep scammers engaged longer.
Tan encourages the public to use SOHAI and help protect others from scams by wasting scammers’ time.
