Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)

Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) Latest News

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently said that the financial fraud risk indicator (or FRI) has prevented potential losses of ₹660 crore across the banking ecosystem within six months of the rollout of this initiative.

About Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)

• It was launched in May 2025 by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT’s) Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU).
• It is a risk-based metric that classifies mobile numbers into three categories: Medium, High, and Very High Risk based on their likelihood of involvement in financial fraud.
• The classification draws from a comprehensive analysis using inputs from various platforms, including the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre’s National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), DoT’s Chakshu platform, and intelligence shared by banks and financial institutions.
• By flagging high-risk numbers early, the tool enables banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and UPI service providers to take appropriate measures for customer protection and transaction validation.
• How Advance Notification Helps Prevent Fraud?
  • The DoT’s Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) regularly disseminates the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL), which details mobile numbers disconnected due to involvement in cybercrime, failed verification, or exceeding permissible usage limits. 
  • These numbers often surface in financial fraud activities.
  • Given that fraudulent mobile numbers are often short-lived and verification processes can take time, a preemptive indicator such as the FRI becomes highly effective. 
  • Thus, as soon as a suspected mobile number is flagged by a stakeholder, it undergoes multidimensional analysis, and classifies it into Medium, High, or Very High financial risk associated with it. 
  • It then shares this assessment about the number immediately with all stakeholders through DoT’s Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP). 
  • Banks and financial institutions can use FRI in real time to take preventive measures such as declining suspicious transactions, issuing alerts or warnings to customers, and delaying transactions flagged as high risk.

Source: ET

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