Anti-Spam AI System Setting New Standard in Telecom Fraud Prevention

Mary Nnah

Between March 13 and May 20, 2025, Airtel Nigeria’s newly deployed AI Spam Alert Service intercepted over 9.6 million suspicious text messages on its network, according to internal data released by the company and corroborated by several industry sources. The flagged messages comprised 528,080 originating from Airtel users and 9,138,928 from off-network sources, underscoring the scale of unsolicited and potentially harmful messaging circulating across Nigeria’s mobile ecosystem.

The launch of the Spam Alert Service, which runs silently in the background without requiring customer activation, marks the latest effort by a Nigerian telecom operator to address rising concerns over mobile fraud. The system, powered by artificial intelligence, scans every incoming SMS using over 250 parameters, including sender identity, link structure, message volume, and regional anomalies. Messages flagged as malicious are tagged “Suspected SPAM” before they reach the end user.

According to Airtel, the tool is designed to work in real-time, with each SMS processed in less than two milliseconds. The solution is deployed at both the core network and IT systems level, allowing for dynamic scanning while preserving user privacy by avoiding the storage or analysis of message content.

Airtel Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Balsingh, noted in an official statement that the introduction of the AI Spam Alert Service is part of the company’s broader digital safety agenda. “Spam and scam messages are increasingly sophisticated and damaging to consumers. This service enables real-time protection for our subscribers, ensuring they have a safer digital experience across our network,” he said.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has welcomed the initiative. In a report published by The Punch in April, the Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Aminu Maida, stated that the industry must take more proactive steps to manage digital risks. “Spam messages and fraud are becoming more sophisticated, and this AI-powered solution provides a much-needed layer of security,” Maida was quoted as saying.

The NCC has in recent months explored collaborative models with operators to enhance consumer protection and reduce fraud exposure. The Commission’s 2023 Industry Risk Report identified phishing via SMS and unsolicited bulk messaging as among the top five concerns affecting mobile subscribers, particularly in rural areas and among first-time smartphone users.

Globally, regulators are taking more defined positions on spam prevention. In Australia, the National Anti-Scam Centre introduced in 2023 has achieved a 97 percent drop in scam calls through its coordinated strategy involving telecoms and government agencies. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission mandates caller ID authentication through the STIR/SHAKEN protocol, aimed at curbing robocalls and number spoofing. In India, telecom regulators are enforcing the use of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to track and verify commercial messaging traffic.

According to reports published by The Economic Times of India, Vodafone Idea (Vi) flagged over 24 million spam messages through its own AI system between January and April 2025. Similarly, Bharti Airtel in India claims to have protected over 5.4 million users from malicious links in the first 25 days of a comparable deployment.

Nigeria’s telecommunications sector may now be entering a similar phase of active risk mitigation. As more consumers rely on mobile platforms for banking, commerce, and government services, the security of SMS communications has become a national priority.

Airtel’s AI Spam Alert Service also contributes valuable metadata that may assist regulators and law enforcement agencies. While individual message content remains private, aggregate data such as frequency of flagged messages, sender volume, link types, and geolocation clusters can reveal patterns and help map fraud networks. This capability, some experts suggest, could be formalised into a central threat intelligence repository governed jointly by the NCC and mobile operators.

Recent reporting by TechPression indicates that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is actively preparing a draft regulatory framework to tackle spam and fraud in application-to-person (A2P) messaging. While no formal timeline has been announced, industry insiders consider it likely that this framework could introduce minimum standards such as mandatory AI-enabled spam detection, real-time reporting obligations, and periodic audits to be enforced before the end of 2025. The move would align with broader NCC efforts around cybersecurity and consumer protection, fitting with the Commission’s ongoing revision of telecom law to better encompass AI, 5G, and digital fraud.

However, challenges remain. Cybercriminals are increasingly shifting tactics from SMS to voice phishing (vishing), fraudulent app-based schemes, and spoofed calls. Airtel officials have acknowledged that the current system is just a first phase, with subsequent features under development to include scam call detection and expanded regional filtering capabilities.

Industry analysis suggests that Airtel’s initiative aligns with global best practices in regulatory‑tech collaboration. According to Aetha Consulting’s recent report, “AI systems like…spam filters …face minimal regulatory risk” and are viewed as a strategic way for telecom providers to enhance consumer protection. Embedding such tools at network‑level offers a low‑risk path toward improving digital safety. This analysis highlights the importance of formalising guidelines globally, such as those seen in Australia and the U.S. where regulators are already incorporating AI-driven intercepts into telecom safety frameworks.

With over 200 million mobile subscriptions in Nigeria and billions of SMS exchanged monthly, the integration of AI-powered filtering tools could become a foundational element of digital trust. As regulators weigh the impact of such technologies, analysts agree that a coordinated approach, which combine operator innovation, regulatory clarity, and consumer education will be essential.

At the time of writing this article, the AI Spam Alert Service remains active across Airtel Nigeria’s entire network, without any additional cost to subscribers. While competitors have yet to unveil similar solutions at comparable scale, industry insiders suggest that spam prevention may soon become a key metric for evaluating telecom quality of service in regulatory assessments.

For the Nigerian government and its agencies, especially those advocating for digital inclusion and citizen safety, the development represents a technical solution with policy relevance. Whether through direct oversight or enabling guidelines, how the NCC and other authorities choose to support or scale such efforts may well determine the future trajectory of mobile communications security in Nigeria.