The Department of Telecommunications’ Financial Fraud Risk Indicator helped prevent suspected cyber fraud losses of INR 5,043.73 crore between its launch in May 2025 and August 2026, as banks and other financial institutions increasingly use the system to identify high-risk transactions.
By- Anchal Sachdeva
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) helped prevent suspected cyber fraud losses of INR 5,043.73 crore through its Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) between its launch on May 22, 2025 and August 2026.
Cumulative suspected fraud losses prevented through FRI increased from INR 139.16 crore in August 2025 to INR 5,043.73 crore by August 2026. DoT said it prevented more than INR 2,000 crore during the four months from April 2026.
DoT launched FRI under its Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) to provide financial institutions with real-time intelligence on the likelihood that a mobile number is associated with cybercrime or financial fraud. The system had prevented INR 660 crore in suspected losses during its first six months of operation.
FRI classifies mobile numbers into three risk categories — medium, high and very high — based on their likelihood of involvement in financial fraud. The assessment draws on inputs including citizen reports through Sanchar Saathi, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre’s National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, and intelligence shared by telecom operators, banks and financial institutions.
The risk intelligence is shared through DIP with banks, payment service providers, insurers, securities intermediaries and pension-sector entities. These institutions can incorporate the signals into customer onboarding, transaction monitoring and fraud detection systems.
Banks and UPI service providers are already using FRI intelligence to flag or stop transactions involving mobile numbers categorised as high or very high risk. DoT is also extending the framework to securities market intermediaries, insurance entities and pension-sector stakeholders.
The department has conducted more than 25 training sessions covering 1,500 banks, financial institutions and regulators on FRI methodology, DIP integration and the use of risk signals in fraud-prevention workflows.
The initiative is part of DoT’s wider efforts to address telecom-enabled cyber fraud through coordination across the telecom, banking, financial services and law-enforcement ecosystems. DIP, launched in 2024, enables intelligence sharing among more than 1,600 stakeholders.
Citizen reporting is also a key input into the system. Citizens can report suspicious calls and messages through Chakshu on the Sanchar Saathi portal or mobile application. For financial cyber fraud, citizens can report incidents by calling 1930 or through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.
