Airtel has  launched an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Alert Service, which helps its customers identify spam messages at no cost.

This service, which offers Airtel smartphone and feature phone customers alerts for suspected spam SMS messages, requires no additional application downloads and is automatically activated for all Airtel customers, the telecom operator’s officials said at the launch in Lagos yesterday.

Starting from Nigeria, it will subsequently roll out across other countries where Airtel Africa operates, the officials added.

Nigeria’s Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, who was also present at the launch, commended Airtel for its continued investment in Nigeria’s technology ecosystem and for specifically investing in a service that is geared towards enhancing online security for millions of Nigerians.

“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 economy empowerment,” Tijani said.

In his remarks, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, stated: “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.”

According to research from Quartz, as of 2019, nine of the top 20 countries in the world with the highest spam rates are in Africa. 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.

In response, Airtel Africa said it developed 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. 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.

Additionally, the software alerts customers to malicious weblinks received via SMS. For this purpose, a centralized database of blacklisted URLs is maintained, and by scanning every SMS in real time the AI system can warn users against accidentally clicking on suspicious links.