Govts Big Measure For UPI Users; PhonePe, Paytm And Google Pay Users Must Check
photoDetails english 2904498 https://zeenews.india.com/photos/business/govts-big-measure-for-upi-users-phonepe-paytm-and-google-pay-users-must-check-2904519 Updated:May 22, 2025, 09:43 AM IST
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In a major step towards combating cyber fraud and financial crime, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced sharing of 'Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)' with stakeholders. It is a risk-based metric that classifies a mobile number to have been associated with Medium, High, or Very High risk of financial fraud.
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This will enhance cyber protection and validation checks in case of mobile numbers flagged with this tool when digital payment is proposed to be made to such numbers. The multi- dimensional analytical tool developed as part of the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) to empower financial institutions with advance actionable intelligence for cyber fraud prevention.
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This classification is an outcome of inputs obtained from various stakeholders including reporting on Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C's) National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), DoT's Chakshu platform, and Intelligence shared by banks and financial institutions. It empowers stakeholders-especially banks, NBFCs, and UPI service providers- to prioritize enforcement and take additional customer protection measures in case a mobile number has high risk.
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The Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) of DoT regularly shares the list of Mobile Numbers that were disconnected (Mobile Number Revocation List - MNRL) with stakeholders along with the reasons for disconnections viz. found involved in cyber-crime, failed re-verification, exceeding prescribed limits. These numbers are also usually used for financial frauds.
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As the life of a mobile number that is misused in cyber frauds is generally few days, and full verification can take several days, an advance indicator on risk associated with such numbers is very useful.
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As soon as a suspected mobile number is flagged by a stakeholder, it undergoes multi-dimensional analysis, and classifies it into Medium, High, or Very High financial risk associated with it. It then shares this assessment about the number immediately with all stakeholders through DIP.
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Leading UPI platforms—PhonePe, Paytm and Google Pay, who collectively account for over 90% of UPI transactions, have begun integrating DIP alerts into their systems.
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With UPI being the most preferred payment method across India, this intervention could save millions of citizens from falling prey to cyber fraud. The FRI allows for swift, targeted, and collaborative action against suspected frauds in both telecom and financial domains, the Ministry of Communications has said.
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