Sunil Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Airtel, has urged major telecom operators in India—Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea (Vi), and BSNL—to join forces in tackling the rising threat of telecom-related cybercrimes. The appeal comes in light of concerning figures, with cyber frauds in India resulting in losses exceeding ₹11,000 crore and over 1.7 million complaints registered in the first nine months of 2024 alone. As part of the proposed initiative, Airtel suggests creating a joint framework for telecom service providers to share real-time intelligence and coordinate efforts to detect and prevent fraud. A key aspect of the plan involves developing a centralized data-sharing platform, akin to the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) system, to track enterprise connections used in commercial calling and reduce spam and unsolicited communications. Additionally, Airtel has introduced a fraud detection system that automatically blocks scam links and malicious content across platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, and Instagram for all its users. The proposal has been shared with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), highlighting the need for a unified industry response. The broader goal is to enhance consumer protection and rebuild trust in digital communications by curbing phishing scams, fake offers, and other fraudulent tactics.
