The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), developed by the Department of Telecommunications, has become a powerful tool in India’s fight against digital financial fraud.
FRI flags mobile numbers as high-risk to alert banks and upi apps
The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) classifies mobile numbers based on their potential risk into Medium, High, or Very High categories. This helps banks, NBFCs, and UPI service providers detect and respond to suspicious activities in real time, preventing potential fraud.
The system is powered by the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), which enables financial institutions to access FRI data and take immediate preventive action.
34 Institutions onboard — 10 lakh accounts frozen
According to the Ministry of Communications, a total of 34 banks, NBFCs, and UPI platforms have already integrated FRI into their systems.
Thanks to these integrations:
- 10.02 Lakh Bank accounts and wallets have been frozen
- 3.05 Lakh accounts have debit/credit restrictions placed on them
These actions have significantly helped in reducing the scale of financial frauds using compromised mobile numbers.
FRI helps banks act faster — includes transaction alerts and blocks
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued advisories directing banks and payment service operators to implement real-time fraud prevention actions such as:
- Warning alerts
- Temporary transaction delays
- Permanent declines for suspicious transactions
These response protocols, powered by FRI, aim to cut off fraud at the source — the mobile number.
Rs. 228 crore budget to fight telecom-based fraud
The Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) project under the Department of Telecommunications, which includes both DIP and FRI systems, has received a budget outlay of Rs. 228.16 crore for a 5-year period.
This investment underlines the Government’s commitment to using digital tools to combat the growing threat of cyber-enabled financial frauds.
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