By Teddy Nwanunobi
New report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers, PwC, has called on both banks and telecommunications companies to deepen their collaboration and share intelligence to combat the growing threat of artificial intelligence-driven fraud.
PwC, in a 16-page report titled ‘AI’s Dual Role in Telecom Fraud,’ noted that the rapid adoption of AI is reshaping the fraud landscape in the telecommunications sector, enabling criminals to automate scams, impersonate victims through deepfake technologies, and scale fraudulent schemes with unprecedented speed.
It also noted that while AI is helping fraudsters launch more sophisticated attacks, the same technology can also serve as a powerful defensive tool for telecom operators and financial institutions.
“AI has tremendous potential to drive positive change across sectors, but it also enables fraudsters to create and disseminate scams quickly and at scale”, it said.
The professional services firm warned that the expanding digital ecosystem linking telecom networks and financial services is creating new vulnerabilities.
Fraud has long posed a significant challenge for telecom operators worldwide, resulting in financial losses, reputational damage, and regulatory scrutiny. Globally, telecom fraud was estimated at approximately $38.95 billion in 2023, highlighting the scale of the problem. In Nigeria, the sector has also faced rising risks.
According to the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, citizens lost approximately N12.5 billion to telecom-related financial crimes between 2019 and January 2023.
PwC said the growing integration between telecom networks and financial services, such as mobile money platforms and digital banking, is further complicating the fraud landscape.
“When fraud occurs across interconnected platforms, both telecommunications and financial services providers face regulatory scrutiny and erosion of customer trust”, the report said.
The firm added that telecom operators are increasingly becoming critical infrastructure for digital financial services, exposing them to greater risk as criminals target the ecosystem. Despite these risks, PwC said telecom companies have a unique advantage in the fight against fraud due to the vast amount of network and customer data they possess.
By deploying advanced AI systems, telcos can detect suspicious activity patterns, flag unusual call behaviour, and identify fraudulent transactions in real time. For example, AI-driven pattern recognition can analyse large datasets to detect irregular call durations, unusual call frequencies, or activity occurring at odd hours, indicators that may signal fraudulent activity. Machine learning models trained on historical fraud cases can also help identify subtle warning signs that traditional detection systems might miss.
