DoT Financial Fraud Risk Indicator Helps Prevent ₹5,043 Crore in Suspected Cyber Fraud Losses Since 2025 Launch

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) says its Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) has helped prevent suspected cyber fraud losses worth ₹5,043.73 crore between its launch in May 2025 and August 2026. The real-time system is designed to help banks and financial institutions identify potentially risky transactions before fraudulent money leaves customers’ accounts.

According to the government, the amount of suspected fraud prevented by the DoT Financial Fraud Risk Indicator has increased significantly since the system was introduced. More than ₹2,000 crore in suspected losses were reportedly prevented during the four months beginning April 2026 alone.

The Ministry of Communications said these figures represent transactions that were stopped before suspected fraudulent funds could leave citizens’ accounts. Taking action at this stage can reduce the need to track, freeze and recover money after a cyber fraud has already occurred.

The FRI is a real-time risk assessment system developed by DoT to help financial institutions identify mobile numbers that may be associated with cybercrime or financial fraud. It operates through DoT’s Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) and assigns mobile numbers different risk levels, including medium, high and very high, based on intelligence and indicators associated with potential financial fraud.

The system draws information from multiple sources, including citizen complaints submitted through the Sanchar Saathi platform, the Indian Cybercrime Reporting Portal, telecom operators, banks and other financial institutions. This intelligence is securely shared with banks, payment service providers, insurers, securities intermediaries and organisations in the pension sector.

Banks and other financial institutions can use FRI risk signals during customer onboarding, transaction monitoring and fraud detection. This allows them to identify potentially suspicious activity before a payment is completed.

The system can assess transaction risk in a fraction of a second, which is particularly important because stolen funds can move rapidly through multiple mule accounts, making them much harder to trace and recover. By identifying suspicious activity before money is transferred, the FRI supports a more preventive approach to cyber fraud prevention.

DoT said the FRI represents a shift from responding to cyber fraud after it occurs toward identifying and stopping potentially fraudulent transactions in advance. By combining intelligence from telecom networks, banks, government platforms and citizen reports, the system can provide faster financial fraud risk signals to participating institutions.

As digital payments and online financial services continue to expand, real-time fraud detection systems such as the FRI could help banks and other financial institutions respond more quickly to suspicious activity and reduce potential losses for customers.

This article is based on information from Sarkaritel