DoT introduces financial fraud risk indicator to safeguard mobile users; tool to help banks, UPI service providers

As a part of its cutting-edge Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched a new initiative in a determined bid to prevent cyber fraud and financial scams. The new initiative is the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) — a device aimed at providing financial service providers with advance warnings of mobile numbers that could be involved in fraudulent transactions so that they can take pre-emptive action before a digital transaction takes place.

What is the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator?

FRI is a dynamic risk assessment framework that places mobile numbers in risk categories depending upon their probability of being associated with financial fraud. These risk categories are Medium, High, or Very High. These categories are based on inputs from various sources, such as complaints received by the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), alerts from the DoT's Chakshu platform, and intelligence inputs from banks, NBFCs, and other financial entities.

After being identified, a mobile number is subjected to an analytical examination on the basis of DoT's multi-dimensional data model. The result is then communicated to concerned stakeholders like banks, UPI providers, and digital payments platforms—enabling them to take protective steps like blocking transactions, alerts, or additional authentication.

How Does It Work?

The solution fills a significant gap in cybercrime detection—timing. Potentially fraudulent mobile numbers only function for a few days before they are discarded or re-issued, so real-time risk indicators are essential. The FRI fills this gap by issuing pre-emptive alerts based on behavioral patterns and verified fraud reports.

Also, the DoT's Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL), which lists numbers that have been disconnected for cybercrime, failed authentication, or regulatory violations, is regularly distributed to stakeholders to ensure these are not re-used.
Several key players in the digital payments ecosystem have begun integrating the FRI system. PhonePe, one of the largest UPI service providers in India, has embedded FRI signals into its PhonePe Protect feature. The company automatically declines transactions linked to mobile numbers classified as “Very High Risk” and notifies users with an on-screen warning. Preliminary data suggests strong accuracy in FRI’s fraud predictions.

Other major players such as Paytm and Google Pay—who together handle more than 90% of UPI transactions in India—have now begun including DIP alerts too. Transaction hold-ups, extra user authentication, and advance caution warnings are being tested to better protect consumers.

A Collaborative Approach to Digital Safety

This project represents an increasing partnership between the financial and telecom industries to address cyber attacks. The fusion of telecom intelligence with financial transaction tracking allows authorities to react more quickly and accurately to developing fraud schemes.

The DoT has underlined its resolve to prevent abuse of telecom infrastructure and promoting a safe online space. By persisting with interactions with banks, fintech firms, and digital wallet operators, the department seeks to streamline alert mechanisms, reduce fraud response time, and have the FRI system as a default layer of protection in India's digital payments ecosystem.

As the day's transactions go online, particularly using UPI, the integrated solutions like the one listed above are likely to be the game-changer in protecting millions of users from being exploited financially.