Srinagar, Feb 11: In a major step to curb rising digital fraud, telecom major Bharti Airtel on Tuesday unveiled an AI-powered solution designed to protect customers from bank frauds caused by One-Time Password (OTP) leakages.
The new feature, titled “Fraud Alert”, delivers real-time protection by identifying potentially risky situations during incoming calls where fraudsters attempt to trick users into sharing banking OTPs.
Fraudsters often exploit the urgency associated with OTPs—commonly used for deliveries and other services—to manipulate customers into disclosing banking transaction codes, thereby gaining access to their savings.
Airtel’s AI-driven system detects when a bank OTP is generated during a potentially suspicious call. If such a situation arises, the network triggers a fraud alert, cautioning customers about the risks of sharing OTPs while still on the call. The intervention is aimed at giving users critical time to verify the request and prevent unauthorized transactions.
Commenting on the launch, Shashwat Sharma, Managing Director & CEO, Airtel India, said, “We are on a mission to make Airtel the safe network. While One-Time Passwords play a foundational role in securing digital transactions, their effectiveness is increasingly being undermined by criminal tactics. Our newly developed AI-powered, autonomous solution operates at the network level to detect and intervene against fraudulent activity in real-time.”
He added that extensive trials of the system have shown a high degree of accuracy and effectiveness in preventing OTP-related scams.
Over the past two years, Airtel has introduced several AI-based safeguards, including spam call alerts and malicious link blocking. However, fraudsters have continued to exploit human vulnerabilities through impersonation and social engineering.
The newly launched solution is currently live in Haryana and is set to be rolled out to all Airtel customers across the country within the next two weeks.
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