In Nigeria, where mobile phones remain a critical means of personal and financial communication, SMS scams have become a full-blown crisis. New figures from Airtel Nigeria shed light on how serious the threat has become and how artificial intelligence is being used to fight it.
Between March 13 and May 20, 2025, Airtel’s AI-powered Spam Alert Service flagged over 9.6 million suspected spam messages. More than 9.1 million originated from other networks (off-net), while over 528,000 were sent from Airtel numbers (on-net). These numbers represent just two months of monitoring, reflecting the alarming volume of scam attempts circulating across Nigeria’s mobile networks.
The scale underscores a long-standing problem. According to a 2024 consumer protection survey of digital financial services users in 24 states, 58% of respondents had received a scam SMS or phone call asking for sensitive information, and 23% reported receiving such attempts in the past year.
One in five had been targeted within the last month. While only 6% of respondents lost money to fraud, the widespread nature of these scams shows how common “smishing”—scam messages sent via SMS—has become.
Airtel’s CEO, Dinesh Balsingh, told that the surge in SMS scams, coupled with Africa’s rising smartphone penetration, made the introduction of the AI Spam Alert Service not only necessary but urgent.
“As digital adoption increases, so does the sophistication of cyber threats,” he said. “This solution is part of our proactive strategy to protect subscribers and reinforce trust in our network.”
How Airtel’s AI works
The AI Spam Alert Service doesn’t read the message content. Instead, it analyses over 250 behavioural parameters of SMS senders, such as how frequently they switch SIM cards, the number and geographic spread of recipients, and whether the sender only sends messages without receiving any.
This behavioural profiling helps the AI identify anomalies typical of spam operations. Numbers already flagged by users or linked to previous scam attempts are also fed into the system. According to Airtel, the AI scans over 1.5 billion messages in two milliseconds, using a dual-layer approach: one at the network level and another within the IT systems.
The service, free and automatically available to all Airtel users, whether on smartphones or feature phones, sends real-time alerts when suspicious activity is detected. The result is greater protection without intrusive surveillance, Airtel claims.
Why this matters now
Despite the rise of internet-based messaging, SMS remains essential in Nigeria. In 2023 alone, the telecom sector processed 22.97 billion SMS messages, with Nigerians spending an estimated ₦44.7 billion ($29.8 million) sending texts. SMS is still the primary channel for banking alerts, government updates, and OTPs (one-time passwords) for millions who may not have access to smartphones or consistent mobile data.
Scam messages often impersonate banks, telecom operators, or payment platforms, requesting passwords or transfers under pretenses. While many scams target low amounts, typically under $25, others have resulted in losses of over $100 per victim. These may seem modest, but across millions of attempts, the cumulative effect on trust, security, and financial well-being is substantial.
Strong privacy, weak enforcement
Airtel claims its AI does not read or store SMS content, and all data is encrypted and processed according to industry standards. The company adds that strict internal controls and regulatory audits are in place to prevent misuse.
However, spam detection technology alone won’t address the broader challenges. In Nigeria, weak enforcement and limited prosecution remain significant obstacles. Scam messages are rarely reported by recipients due to a lack of education, and even when they are, follow-up action is rare. This lack of accountability emboldens fraudsters and shifts the burden of protection onto telecom operators, who are often the first and only line of defense.
“By providing users with greater control over their communication channels, we help cultivate a more manageable and enjoyable digital environment, ensuring that our subscribers can navigate their connections without the burden of unwanted distractions,” said Balsingh.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) oversees spam regulation in the country and is backed by national privacy and consumer protection laws. Businesses must get prior consent for promotional SMS and provide opt-out options like replying “STOP.” Users can also block unsolicited messages entirely via the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) code 2442.
In July, the NCC introduced stricter rules: all bulk SMS sender IDs must be registered and approved; promotional messages are banned between 8 PM and 8 AM unless explicitly authorized; and any organization offering bulk SMS services must now secure a ₦10 million ($6,540) licence valid for five years.
While Airtel assures users that its AI system is designed not to interfere with legitimate communication or block website access—a concern some subscribers have voiced—the broader cybersecurity resilience of Nigeria’s telecom industry continues to face scrutiny. As threats evolve, so must the collaboration between telcos, regulators, and law enforcement to protect millions of mobile users from digital exploitation.
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