Airtel dials rivals to fight cyberfraud

Bharti Airtel Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Gopal Vittal has written to peers Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), proposing a platform where all telecom firms could work together to curb the growing menace of malicious uniform resource locator (URL) links or web addresses that are tricking unsuspecting consumers into financial fraud.

- GULVEEN AULAKH

The call for collaboration comes at a time when the government is intensifying efforts to detect and prevent potential cybersecurity attacks. The government has issued new cybersecurity compliance norms to industry stakeholders, especially in light of geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan.

In his proposal to create a Joint Telecom Fraud Initiative in a letter dated May 14, Vittal flagged the alarming rise in cybercrimes, largely by brand abuse, where cybercriminals impersonate trusted entities to mislead consumers into "sharing personal, financial, or security-sensitive information". Business Standard has reviewed the letter. The modus operandi used by cybercriminals include messages with malicious links redirecting users to phishing websites or fraudulent payment gateways.

According to data from the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, India recorded over 1.7 million cybercrime complaints in the first nine months of 2024, leading to financial losses exceeding ₹11,000 crore.