Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI): How DoT’s Smart Tool Prevented ₹660 Crore Cyber Fraud Losses in 6 Months

India’s digital payments ecosystem is among the fastest growing in the world, but this rapid expansion has also made the country a prime target for cybercriminals. To counter this growing threat, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) launched an innovative and intelligence-driven mechanism called the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI).

Within just six months of its rollout on 22 May 2025, FRI has helped prevent cyber fraud losses worth nearly ₹660 crore, marking a major milestone in India’s fight against digital financial crimes.

What is the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)?

The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) is a risk-based classification system developed by the Department of Telecommunications to identify mobile numbers that are potentially linked to financial fraud.

Under FRI, mobile numbers are categorised into:

• Medium Risk

• High Risk

• Very High Risk

This risk tagging enables banks, NBFCs, UPI platforms and payment service providers to take timely preventive actions such as declining suspicious transactions, issuing customer alerts, or applying enhanced due diligence.

Why Was FRI Needed?

India’s cybercrime landscape has evolved rapidly:

• Digital arrest scams

• SIM-box frauds bypassing legal telecom routes

• Phishing and impersonation via UPI and OTP fraud

• Organised cybercrime networks operating like digital cartels

Traditional post-fraud investigation mechanisms were proving insufficient. There was a clear need for a proactive, predictive, and intelligence-based system—this gap is precisely what FRI addresses.

How Does Financial Fraud Risk Indicator Work?

FRI does not rely on a single data source. Instead, it uses multi-source intelligence inputs, including:

• Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) data from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP)

• Reports from DoT’s Chakshu platform under Sanchar Saathi

• Intelligence shared by:

  • Banks and financial institutions

  • NBFCs

  • Telecom Service Providers (TSPs)

  • UPI and payment operators

Based on recurring patterns and verified reports, mobile numbers are dynamically tagged with risk levels.

Role of the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP)

The Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) is the technological backbone supporting FRI.

Key Features of DIP:

• Secure, online information-sharing platform developed by DoT

• Facilitates real-time coordination among stakeholders

• Helps detect and curb misuse of telecom resources

Scale of DIP:

• 1050+ organisations onboarded, including:

  • RBI, NPCI, GSTN

  • UIDAI, CBDT, PFMS

  • 36 State/UT Police forces

  • Banks, financial institutions

  • Social media platforms like WhatsApp

Through DIP, FRI alerts are seamlessly integrated into the operational systems of banks and payment providers.

₹660 Crore Cyber Fraud Losses Prevented: How?

According to reports from public sector banks, private banks, cooperative banks, TPAPs and payment system operators, the adoption of FRI has led to:

• Blocking of high-risk transactions

• Declining fraudulent UPI payments

• Real-time alerts to customers

• Prevention of repeat fraud attempts

Collectively, these actions have helped avert potential losses of approximately ₹660 crore in just six months.

Sanchar Saathi: The Citizen-Centric Backbone

A defining feature of FRI’s success is Jan Bhagidari (citizen participation) through the Sanchar Saathi initiative.

What is Sanchar Saathi?

Sanchar Saathi is a citizen-centric digital platform of DoT aimed at empowering mobile users and strengthening telecom security.

Key Services:

• Chakshu: Report suspected fraud calls and SMS directly from call logs

• Know Mobile Connections in Your Name

• Block Lost or Stolen Mobile Phones

• Verify Mobile Handset Genuineness

• Trusted contact details of banks and institutions

The Sanchar Saathi mobile app is available on Android and iOS, as well as via a web portal.

Why Citizen Reporting Matters

Many aware users simply ignore fraud calls. While this protects them individually, it allows fraudsters to continue targeting others.

Sanchar Saathi transforms awareness into collective protection by enabling citizens to:

• Report suspicious communications in a few taps

• Help authorities identify fraud patterns

• Enable telecom operators to block numbers and disable fake SIMs

• Deter repeat offenders

This crowdsourced intelligence plays a critical role in strengthening FRI.

Institutional Collaboration Behind FRI

The success of the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator is driven by inter-agency cooperation, including:

• Department of Telecommunications (DoT)

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

• SEBI, PFRDA

• Banks, NBFCs and payment operators

Regular knowledge-sharing sessions are conducted by DoT, with 16 sessions held so far, to ensure effective and uniform implementation.

Significance of FRI for India’s Digital Economy

• Strengthens trust in digital payments

• Reduces financial losses and consumer harm

• Enables proactive cybercrime prevention

• Demonstrates ethical and participatory governance

• Aligns technology with internal security objectives

FRI represents a shift from reactive policing to intelligence-driven prevention.

Conclusion

The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) stands out as a landmark reform in India’s cybersecurity and digital governance framework. By combining technology, institutional coordination, and citizen participation, it has delivered tangible results in record time.

With ₹660 crore in cyber fraud losses prevented in just six months, FRI is not only protecting consumers and banks but also reinforcing confidence in India’s rapidly expanding digital economy. As cyber threats continue to evolve, such intelligence-led and participatory models will be crucial in safeguarding the future of digital India.

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