"DoT's Financial Fraud Risk Indicator Prevents Suspected Cyber Fraud Worth Over ₹5,000 Crore"
Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)
DoT's real-time framework classifying mobile numbers by fraud-risk level to protect financial transactions.
Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP)
DoT's secure platform that generates and shares telecom-based fraud intelligence with financial sector entities.
Cyber fraud in India's digital payment ecosystem has grown alongside the rapid expansion of UPI, mobile banking, and digital onboarding. Fraudsters exploit the same mobile-number-based identity layer that underpins most digital financial transactions. When a fraud succeeds, the victim's money typically moves within minutes through a chain of mule accounts, bank accounts opened using stolen or fabricated identities, fragmenting the money trail across multiple institutions and states. Recovery then becomes a race against time, requiring coordinated action across banks, law enforcement, and telecom operators, with no guarantee of success.
The traditional response to cyber fraud has been reactive. Citizens file complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) or call helpline 1930. The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, coordinates the response. Banks freeze accounts, law enforcement traces fund flows, and courts adjudicate. Cyber insurance, where available, can cover costs such as hiring a specialist during extortion or legal defence fees, but it compensates after the loss has already occurred. The fundamental limitation of this model is that it treats fraud as an event to be investigated rather than a risk to be intercepted. The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) represents a structural departure from this reactive posture.
The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) is a real-time risk-assessment framework developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). It operates under DoT's Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) and classifies mobile numbers into three risk categories: Medium, High, and Very High, based on the likelihood of their involvement in financial fraud. The classification draws on inputs from multiple sources. These include citizen reports on the Sanchar Saathi platform, data from the NCRP, intelligence shared by telecom operators and banks, and other telecom-related parameters.
The core mechanism is machine-to-machine. When a payment is initiated, the FRI check runs in the background in a fraction of a second. If the mobile number associated with the transaction is flagged as high or very high risk, the financial institution can stop or flag the transaction before funds leave the account. This shifts fraud management from a reactive, complaint-driven model to a proactive, preventive one. …
In India, on a person availing cyber insurance, in addition to payment for loss of funds and other benefits, which of the following benefits are generally provided?
1.If a malware disrupts access to one's computer, cost of restoration of the computer system
2.Cost of a new computer if some miscreant wilfully damages it, if proved so
3.If a cyber extortion occurs, cost of hiring a specialized consultant to minimize the loss
4.Cost of defence in the Court of Law if any third party files a suit
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Consider the following pairs:
Platform / Portal — Nodal Ministry / Body
1.Sanchar Saathi — Department of Telecommunications
2.National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) — Ministry of Home Affairs
3.Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) — Ministry of Finance
4.Helpline 1930 — National Payments Corporation of India
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
Consider the following statements about the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C):
1.It functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
2.It operates the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
3.It developed the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) framework.
4.Citizens can report cyber fraud through helpline number 1930.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
With reference to the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), consider the following statements:
1.It is developed by the Department of Telecommunications under the Digital Intelligence Platform.
2.It classifies mobile numbers into three risk categories: Low, Medium, and High.
3.It draws inputs from the Sanchar Saathi platform and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
4.Its risk signals are shared with banks, UPI providers, insurers, and pension entities.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
With reference to cyber insurance in India, which of the following benefits are generally provided to a policyholder, in addition to payment for loss of funds?
1.Cost of restoring a computer system disrupted by malware
2.Cost of purchasing a new computer if physically damaged by a miscreant
3.Cost of hiring a specialist consultant during a cyber extortion incident
4.Cost of legal defence if a third party files a suit against the policyholder
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
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