New Delhi: The next time you click on an unknown “urgent link” from a sender you do not recognise, your network provider might be able to save you from an impending fraud. Telecom operators are now experimenting with artificial intelligence algorithms to ensure that spam messages and fraud callers are not able to break through security systems to access your bank balance and personal data.
On Tuesday, Airtel showcased its AI algorithm at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi. Launched in September 2024, the service is designed to protect users from scam calls and text messages. The company has now taken it forward, blocking users from being directed to any suspicious website or platform, even when they click a potentially fraudulent link.
“Airtel has developed an AI-driven, multi-layered security platform that proactively protects users, enterprises and national assets, making us a trusted partner for next-gen digital security,” the telecom company said in a statement.
In a statement, Airtel said that the company installed its AI-powered fraud fighting network in September 2024, by analysing traffic patterns and behavioural signals at the network level to identify spam and scams in real-time
“Over 800,000 malicious links were blocked across the network, with roughly 30,000 daily fraud attempts stopped,” the statement read.
The telecom company also claimed that since the system was introduced there was a near 14.3 per cent drop in cybercrime complaints from Airtel users and a 68.7 per cent reduction in financial loss from fraud.
Explaining the company’s work to protect users from the growing spams and fraud messages and calls, Airtel told ThePrint that as soon as a user clicks on a suspicious link, their internal servers will first analyse the origin of the sender and the patterns of their operations. If the systems find the message to be dangerous, it will automatically block the site.
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A growing problem
Airtel has also developed a fraud alert system, which will prevent the user from accessing their bank OTPs for suspicious transactions. The user will get a message from the bank asking for confirmation before issuing the OTP for such transactions.
“We have tied up with banks to tighten our security systems and ensure that fraud is prevented,” the Airtel spokesperson told ThePrint.
Apart from Airtel, other telecom operators have also been working with AI to minimise the damage caused by fraudulent calls, messages and links.
Experts said that these interventions will go a long way in preventing digital fraud, which is quickly becoming one of the biggest cybercrimes.
In the Parliament this session, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said. in a reply to a question, that in 2025, the complaints about spam calls and messages rose to 2.5 million from about 8,50,000 in 2021. The reply added that of these, 1.17 million complaints were against Bharti Airtel and 1.07 million were against Reliance Jio.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)