Airtel customers will now be able to filter potentially scam messages after the telco unveiled a system to flag and label all suspected messages in a fresh effort to tame runaway text fraud.
The artificial intelligence (AI)-powered spam detection system, which closely mirrors the service offered by caller ID app Truecaller, will be made available to Airtel users immediately at no cost.
“Airtel Kenya has launched an innovative 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 geographical spread of targets,” said the firm.
“This unprecedented service, which offers Airtel smartphone and feature phone customers real-time alerts for suspected spam SMS messages, requires no additional application downloads and is automatically activated for all Airtel customers.”
The launch comes at a time when the mobile penetration has been rising, and with it, the proliferation of digital scams riding on the expanding demography of unsuspecting phone users.
With the new system, the telco’s customers will see a ‘spam alert’ tag appended to the incoming suspicious message, marking a departure from the Truecaller service, which blocks unwanted or harmful calls and messages.
The system is also designed to alert customers of malicious web links received via SMS, with Airtel saying this has prompted the establishment of a centralised database of blacklisted URLs (addresses of unique web resources on the internet).
According to the telco, the AI system will scan every SMS in real time and warn users against clicking suspicious links.
“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 18 million messages, each in two milliseconds,” said the firm.
Airtel said that according to its internally generated data, two in every five call centre complaints relate to spam, with the number of linked grievances hitting three million in a month.
Airtel Kenya managing director Ashish Malhotra termed the development a continuation of the telco’s innovative offerings to its customers in the larger mission of enhancing user experience.
“The AI spam alert service is the first of its kind in the Kenyan market and it fosters our dedication towards groundbreaking solutions aimed at better customer experience,” he said.
“With the new AI-powered spam alert, we are enabling our customers to be more vigilant to fraud attempts on their phones and to have a better experience of our services.”
