At McAfee, protecting people’s digital lives isn’t just a mission — it’s a passion that fuels everything we do. In this edition of Behind the Shield, we’re spotlighting Ivy, a Senior Data Scientist helping power the launch of McAfee Scam Detector, our AI-driven tool built to help users identify and avoid scam text messages.
From designing fraud-detection models to collaborating across global teams, Ivy’s story is a great example of how we put customers first through innovation and empathy.
Building Smarter Models to Protect People
Ivy joined McAfee in May 2023 as a Senior Data Scientist on the OCTO Transform team. Based in Chicago and a self-proclaimed foodie, she brings both curiosity and creativity to everything she does — whether that’s trying a new cuisine or building machine learning models that protect users from scams.
Before McAfee, Ivy worked in the financial sector, using data science to improve fraud detection and investment analysis. Her work has always been driven by one question: How can we use data to make people safer?
That question led her to McAfee — and to her current work building the AI model that powers Scam Detector.
Developing AI That Detects the Undetectable
When Ivy joined the Scam Detector project, the mission was clear: build an AI model from the ground up that could recognize scam messages with accuracy and speed.
“I started by researching scam tactics and patterns across different languages and regions,” Ivy explains. “We needed to make sure our model could reflect how scams actually look in the real world.”
Alongside her teammates, Ivy continuously tested and refined the model — ensuring it could detect even the most subtle scam indicators.
Putting People at the Center
Throughout the project, Ivy stayed focused on the real people who would be using Scam Detector.
“I kept thinking — what if this was my friend or family member receiving that scam message? How would I want this technology to protect them?” she shares.
Reading stories from scam victims only deepened her sense of purpose. “Some of those stories really stayed with me. They made the work personal. It reminded me that behind every message we analyze, there’s a real person on the other end.”
That empathy shaped Ivy’s approach — from how she built the training dataset to how she evaluated model performance. For her, it wasn’t just about technical accuracy. It was about trust.
Scaling Solutions for a Safer Internet
Collaborating across teams, Ivy saw firsthand how engineers, product managers, and designers came together to create a solution that’s already helping people avoid harmful scams.
Now, as Scam Detector reaches more users, Ivy is excited for what comes next.
“I’m most excited to hear how customers use it — what they like, where we can improve,” Ivy says. “Knowing that something we built can make someone feel safer online — that’s what makes this work so meaningful.”
Join us Behind the Shield
Ivy’s story is just one of many across McAfee — a place where technologists, researchers, and creatives come together to solve real-world problems with purpose.
If you’re passionate about protecting people through innovation, there’s a place for you here.
Ready to build what’s next? Join us
