Airtel to help subscribers combat fraud with AI

Airtel Africa has launched an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered Spam Alert Service to give smartphone and feature phone customers real-time alerts for suspected spam SMS messages.

According to the telecommunications company, the service is free, requires no additional application downloads, and is automatically activated for all Airtel customers. Starting in Nigeria, it will subsequently roll out across other countries where Airtel Africa operates.

With Africa’s smartphone penetration on the increase, spam messages have become a widespread issue, targeting an expanding demographic of unsuspecting individuals. Hundreds of thousands of mobile users often receive unsolicited SMS or calls claiming to be from their network provider or government and offering irresistible benefits.

In these communications, users are asked to click on links and provide personal information to claim the benefits. This action allows the scammer to gain access to users’ security information, which can then be used to commit fraud.

To tackle this, Airtel developed an AI-powered solution that classifies suspicious SMS messages as “Suspected SPAM.”

Without reading specific SMS messages, the AI analyses in real time over 250 parameters, including the sender’s usage patterns such as SMS frequency and the geographical spread of targets.

According to Airtel, the Airtel AI Spam Alert Service is designed to filter all SMS through a proprietary dual-layer protection: one layer at the network level and the other at the IT systems level, processing over 1.5 billion messages in 2 milliseconds.

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Additionally, the software alerts customers to malicious weblinks received via SMS.

Dinesh Balsingh, Airtel Nigeria managing director and chief executive officer, said, “This is a game-changer for the telecoms industry in Africa, and as we move forward, we will continue to address customer challenges through proactive tech-driven solutions.”

Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, stated, “As we expand our digital infrastructure and prioritise digital literacy, solutions like Airtel AI Spam Alert Service will enforce the importance of leveraging artificial intelligence, not only for security but also for economic empowerment.”

Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), added, “The Airtel Spam Alert Service is of obvious benefit to the entire sector. Security is one of the major challenges to subscribers, and such an innovative service from Airtel helps us tackle this issue while boosting consumer confidence.”