Airtel's network flags 8 billion spam calls in 2.5 months; identifies 1 million spammers daily

Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel has flagged a staggering 8 billion (800 crore) spam calls and 800 million (80 crore) spam SMSes within two-and-a-half months of launching its AI-powered spam-fighting solution.

Leveraging this advanced algorithm, the AI-powered network has successfully identified close to 1 million spammers every day, the company informed in a release.

The company said in the last 2.5 months, it has alerted close to 252 million (25.2 crore) unique customers to suspicious calls and has observed that there has been a 12 per cent decline in the number of customers answering them.

Six per cent of all calls on the Airtel network have been identified as spam calls, while 2 per cent of all SMSes have also been identified as spam. Interestingly, it has been observed that a staggering 35 per cent of the spammers have used landline telephones.

Additionally, customers in Delhi have received the maximum number of spam calls, followed by customers in Andhra Pradesh and Western Uttar Pradesh, the statement said.

Delhi is also where a maximum number of spam calls have originated, followed by Mumbai and Karnataka. In terms of SMSes, the maximum number have originated in Gujarat followed by Kolkata and Uttar Pradesh and the maximum number of customers targeted have been from Mumbai, Chennai and Gujarat.

As per the trends, 76 per cent of all spam calls have been targeted at male customers. Additionally, distinct differences have been noted in terms of spam call frequency across age demographics.

The company said that customers in the age bracket of 36-60 have received 48 per cent of all spam calls, while those in the 26-35 age bracket have been the second-most targeted, accounting for 26 per cent of spam calls. Approximately only 8 per cent of the spam calls have landed in the handsets of senior citizens.

The company's findings have also shed light on the hourly distribution of spam activity. Spam calls commence from 9 am onwards and gradually escalate in volume as the day progresses. The peak of spam activity is observed between noon and 3 pm, during which the highest concentration of spam calls occur.

Moreover, there is a notable disparity in the frequency of spam calls between weekdays and weekends. The volume of these calls diminishes by around 40 per cent on Sundays. Specifically, devices in the price range of 15,000 to 20,000 rupees are the recipients of approximately 22 per cent of all spam calls.