DoT's Fraud Risk Indicator helped prevent ₹5,043 crore in suspected cyber fraud losses

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) says its Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) helped prevent suspected cyber fraud losses of ₹5,043.73 crore by August 2026, about 15 months after the tool was launched. The figures were reported on 8 September 2026.

How the numbers grew

More than ₹2,000 crore was prevented in the four months from April 2026, which reflects wider use of the tool by financial institutions.

What FRI does

FRI was launched on 22 May 2025 as part of DoT's Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP).

• It gives mobile numbers that may be linked to financial fraud a medium, high or very high risk rating.
• The ratings use inputs from citizens' reports on Sanchar Saathi, the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal run by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), telecom operators, banks and financial institutions.
• The ratings are shared through DIP with banks, payment service providers, insurers, securities intermediaries and pension-sector entities.
• These institutions can use the signals to flag or stop risky transactions before money leaves the account.

The RBI has advised banks, including small finance, payments and co-operative banks, to integrate FRI into their fraud-monitoring systems.

What it means for you

• A UPI or bank payment to a high-risk number may be delayed, flagged or declined, or you may see a warning. Take such warnings seriously.
• Your reports help: reporting suspicious calls and messages on Sanchar Saathi feeds into the risk ratings.

Stay safe

• Do not send money to unknown people who promise jobs, investment returns, lottery wins or KYC fixes.
• Never share OTPs, UPI PINs or screen access.
• If you have been cheated, call 1930 or report at cybercrime.gov.in immediately.