Airtel has introduced a new AI-driven fraud detection system aimed at tackling one of the fastest-growing forms of digital banking scams in India, frauds caused by customers being tricked into sharing One-Time Passwords (OTPs).
Announced in New Delhi, the new feature, branded Fraud Alert, operates at the network layer and is designed to intervene in real time when customers are at risk of divulging banking OTPs during suspicious phone calls.
Targeting the OTP vulnerability
While OTPs remain central to securing digital transactions, fraudsters increasingly exploit urgency and social engineering tactics to manipulate customers into sharing them. Often posing as delivery agents, bank officials or service providers, scammers pressure victims into revealing transaction OTPs, leading to unauthorised withdrawals.
Airtel’s system identifies potentially risky scenarios when a banking OTP is triggered during an active incoming call. If the call pattern and context appear suspicious, the network generates a real-time fraud alert, prompting the customer to reconsider before consenting to the OTP while still on the call.
By inserting this intervention at the moment of vulnerability, Airtel aims to give customers critical time to pause, verify and avoid being manipulated.
Making Airtel the safe network
Shashwat Sharma, Managing Director & CEO, Airtel India, said the initiative forms part of the company’s broader ambition to strengthen network-level protection.
“We are on a mission to make Airtel the safe network. While working towards this, we have realised that despite the foundational role played by One-Time Passwords (OTPs) in securing digital transactions, their efficacy is frequently being undermined by criminal tactics. We are, therefore, pleased to announce a significant advancement in Airtel’s network layer that is designed to strengthen protection against banking frauds.”
He added that the AI-powered system is autonomous and proactive, operating directly within the network infrastructure rather than relying solely on user awareness.
“Our newly developed, AI-powered, autonomous solution operates proactively at network level and is engineered to detect and intervene against fraudulent activity in real-time. Extensive trials have demonstrated a remarkable level of accuracy and impact in preventing the menace of such scams.”
From spam filters to fraud interception
Over the past two years, Airtel has rolled out multiple AI-enabled safeguards, including spam-call warnings and malicious link-blocking. While these measures have reduced fraud exposure, scammers have increasingly shifted tactics toward impersonation and psychological manipulation.
The new OTP-focused protection represents a shift from blocking external threats to mitigating human vulnerability — the weakest link in digital security chains.
The solution is currently live in Haryana and is scheduled to be rolled out to all Airtel customers across India over the next two weeks.
As digital payments and mobile banking continue to scale rapidly, telecom operators are increasingly positioning themselves not just as connectivity providers but as active guardians of transaction security — embedding AI deeper into the network itself to counter fraud at the source.