Nigeria fights against SMS fraud as Airtel implements AI-powered spam alert service

Most people in Nigeria (if not all) have received random texts telling them to call a number to claim money from the government. Due to their poorly structured sentences, many people can easily detect these messages as spam, but that is easily overlooked by some others.

Moreover, smartphones nowadays have built-in features to protect against spam messages. But older or less educated people might fall for them as well. Can you blame them though? Who doesn't want free money from the government in this crippling Nigerian economy?

Thankfully, telecommunications company Airtel, says it is stepping up with AI to fight spam and SMS fraud in Nigeria, even though their network service has been questionable lately despite higher tariffs.

Airtel claims the AI-powered spam alert system automatically works for customers—no downloads or extra steps are needed. It also works on smartphones and regular phones.

For those wondering how the system operates, it analyzes over 250 different factors in real-time, such as the sender’s usage patterns. So, when something seems off, the system is meant to label the message as "Suspected SPAM" without actually reading the content, protecting privacy.

There's also a central database of blocked URLs to warn people about malicious links they might receive via SMS.

Spam messages and SMS fraud have always been major issues in Nigeria, causing financial losses and damaging trust in digital communications. In fact, Nigeria ranks 7th worldwide among the top 20 countries affected by spam messages and calls.

With solutions like Airtel's spam alert service, telecom companies aim to improve fraud detection, protect income, and make customers happier. Nigeria isn't the only country getting this service, though.

The service is expected to roll out in other countries where Airtel operates in the coming months. Speaking of other countries, Cell C, MTN, and Telkom in South Africa have joined the GSMA's Open Gateway program to tackle fraud and identity theft.