The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directs all Scheduled Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, and Co-operative Banks to integrate the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) into their systems. This is a prime example of how the power of interagency collaboration can safeguard citizens in India’s growing digital economy.

The same has been produced through an advisory issued by the RBI to the banks. The Fraud Risk Indicator is an output of a multi-dimensional analytical tool developed as part of the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) to empower financial institutions with advanced, actionable intelligence for cyber fraud prevention. 

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Previous Announcement 

Earlier, the department had announced plans to share the data with stakeholders like banks, NBFCs, and UPI service providers. This will help payment solutions providers like Paytm, Google Pay, and others to flag high-risk mobile numbers and prevent fraud before it happens. 

PhonePe, for instance, uses the tool to block transactions tied to Very High FRI mobile numbers and alerts users via its PhonePe Protect feature.

How are Fraud Numbers Identified? 

The model classifies mobile numbers as having been associated with medium, high, or very high risk of financial fraud. This classification is an outcome of inputs obtained from various stakeholders, including reporting on the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C’s) National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), DoT’s Chakshu platform, and intelligence shared by banks and financial institutions.

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Prevention of Cyber Frauds

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.

Additionally, with UPI being the most preferred payment method across India, the intervention between DoT and fintechs could save millions of citizens from falling prey to cyber fraud. The FRI allows for swift, targeted, and collaborative action against suspected fraud in both telecom and financial domains.