Airtel MD urges users to shift to its Payments Bank amid cyber fraud surge

In a letter sent to Airtel users, Vittal stated that cybercriminals continue to find ways around security barriers by using methods such as fake parcel delivery notifications, fraudulent reward links and threats of digital arrest, reported sources.

 He further said these scams are effective because many people use their main bank account for all digital payments, which puts their savings in jeopardy.

To avoid significant losses from such fraud, Vittal recommended that customers use Airtel Payments Bank for online transactions.

He said the users can keep small amounts in this account for routine payments so that, in the event of a scam, their entire savings are not exposed.

 In September 2025, Airtel also said that its anti-fraud initiatives have led to a decline of 68.7 per cent in the value of financial losses and a 14.3 per cent drop in overall cybercrime incidents on the Airtel network.

Vittal said that in the past year, the company's AI-powered network solutions have identified over 48.3 billion spam calls and blocked around 320,000 fraudulent links.