DoT’s Financial Fraud Risk Indicator stopped ₹5,000 crore of suspected fraud

The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator: what happened?

Most cyber frauds use a phone number somewhere: a fake KYC call, a payment to a fraud supplier. Once money moves through mule accounts, getting it back is a race against time. FRI tries to stop the payment at the start.

• FRI prevented suspected cyber-fraud losses of ₹5,043.73 crore within about fifteen months of launch.
• Cumulative savings rose from ₹139.16 crore in August 2025 to ₹5,043.73 crore by August 2026.
• Over ₹2,000 crore was prevented in the four months from April 2026 alone.
• Banks and UPI service providers use FRI to stop or flag transactions to high and very high risk numbers in real time.
• FRI is being extended to securities, insurance and pension entities.

How does FRI work?

• It is built on DoT’s Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP).
• Each mobile number is classed as Medium, High or Very High risk of financial fraud.
• Inputs: citizen reports on Sanchar Saathi, the I4C’s National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), and intelligence from telecom operators, banks and financial institutions.
• The check takes a fraction of a second when a payment starts.

What else sits on the DIP?

• The Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL): numbers disconnected for cybercrime, failed re-verification or crossing connection limits.
• Sharing MNRL in near real time lets banks clean up the numbers linked to accounts.
• DoT’s other citizen tools: Sanchar Saathi, Chakshu, CEIR and ASTR.

Which constitutional entries are relevant?

• Seventh Schedule, List I, Entry 31: Posts and telegraphs; telephones, wireless, broadcasting and other like forms of communication.
• List I, Entry 45: Banking.

What do the numbers show?

Figures as given in the release.

How is a fraud stopped at source?

1. Citizen reports a suspicious number on Sanchar Saathi or NCRP
2. DIP rates the number Medium, High or Very High risk
3. Bank or UPI app checks the number when a payment starts
4. Risky payment is stopped or flagged; user sees a warning
5. Money stays in the account: no FIR, no freeze, no tracing needed

Why does the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator matter?

What are the challenges in the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator?

• A wrong risk tag can block a genuine user; review processes matter.
• Fraudsters can switch numbers quickly; data must be updated in real time.
• Adoption by every bank and payment app is needed for full cover.

What should be done next on the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator?

• Extend FRI to securities, insurance and pension entities, as planned.
• Keep training financial institutions.
• Encourage citizens to report on Sanchar Saathi and Chakshu and to call 1930 quickly after a fraud.

What can Prelims ask on the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator?

• FRI: launched by DoT on 22 May 2025, under the Digital Intelligence Platform.
• Three risk classes: Medium, High, Very High.
• MNRL: Mobile Number Revocation List.
• Cyber fraud helpline: 1930.
• Chakshu: report suspected fraud calls, SMS or WhatsApp messages on Sanchar Saathi.

How to write about the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator in Mains

Practice question (10 marks, 150 words): Prevention is more effective than recovery in tackling cyber financial fraud. Examine with reference to the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator.

• Intro: FRI, 22 May 2025; ₹5,043.73 crore prevented by August 2026.
• Mechanism: DIP, risk classes, real-time checks.
• Benefits: no recovery chase, inter-agency links.
• Concerns: false positives, number switching.
• Conclusion: extend to all sectors; citizen reporting.