Latest news with #FinancialFraudRiskIndicator
Time of India
05-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
RBI acts tough against cyber frauds, directs all banks to use DoT's FRI technology to protect bank customers
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills What is the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator and how can banks prevent cyber frauds occuring with customers? FRI helps banks take real time preventive measures to stop cyber frauds What experts say about DoT's FRI technology? Customers enjoy more secure transactions, early alerts, and reduced losses. Banks get data-driven tools, real-time decisioning, and regulated guidance from RBI. Overall ecosystem sees improved resilience in India's digital payment landscape. Real-Time Threat Detection Uses AI and machine learning to identify fraudulent activities (e.g., phishing, account takeovers, payment fraud) in real time. Analyses behavioural patterns to detect anomalies. Risk Scoring & Fraud Prevention Assigns risk scores to transactions, logins, or user activities to flag potential fraud. Helps businesses block high-risk transactions before they occur. Automated Intelligence & Threat Feeds Integrates threat intelligence from multiple sources (dark web, breach databases) to identify compromised credentials or fraud schemes. Proactively alerts customers about emerging fraud tactics. Collaboration with Fintech & Banks Fraud detection models help financial institutions block suspicious transactions. Reduces financial losses for customers. Identity Verification & Authentication Enhances identity proofing with biometrics, device fingerprinting, and behavioural analytics to prevent impersonation fraud. Adaptive Fraud Mitigation Continuously learns from new fraud patterns to improve detection accuracy. Reduces false positives, improving customer experience while maintaining security. Regulatory Compliance & Reporting Helps organizations comply with anti-fraud regulations (e.g., PSD2, GDPR) by providing audit trails and fraud analytics. Cross-sector integration Combines telecom, banking, and cybercrime reports to produce a real-time fraud risk indicator (FRI) per mobile number. Actionable risk scoring (Medium/High/Very High) This gives banks immediate, automated inputs during transactions—something few countries offer in this structured way. RBI-Mandated Usage Unlike many countries where data-sharing is voluntary or siloed, India has made this integration a regulatory requirement. API-first model Makes it scalable, real-time, and platform-agnostic—ready for adoption by private banks, fintechs, and payment gateways. False Positives / Data Bias: If mobile numbers are wrongly flagged (e.g. recycled SIMs), customers may face unfair friction. If mobile numbers are wrongly flagged (e.g. recycled SIMs), customers may face unfair friction. Privacy & Consent: Cross-sharing of telecom and banking data must be privacy-conscious under the DPDPA Act. Cross-sharing of telecom and banking data must be privacy-conscious under the DPDPA Act. Fraud Adaptation: Scammers may move to untraceable channels (e.g. WhatsApp or foreign VoIP numbers), needing TRI to evolve further. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has declared war on cyber fraud affecting bank customers in India. On June 30, 2025, the RBI directed all Scheduled Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, and Co-operative Banks to incorporate the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator ( FRI ) developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) into their developed this cyber security system known as FRI and rolled it out in May 2025. To give a brief overview of this technology, the FRI allows for the automated exchange of data and information between the banks and DoT's Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP). This system aids banks in safeguarding customers from cyber frauds by facilitating real-time responses to any fraudulent activity and providing continuous feedback to emhance the fraud risk a press release dated July 2, 2025, DoT said: 'The system's utility has already been demonstrated with leading institutions such as PhonePe, Punjab National Bank , HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Paytm, and India Post Payments Bank actively using the platform. 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.'Check out the info below to learn more about this technology and how it can protect regular bank customers from the threats of cyber the press release, the DoT said that the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) is a risk-based metric that classifies a mobile number to have been associated with Medium, High, or Very High risk of financial fraud.'This classification is an outcome of inputs obtained from various stakeholders including reporting on Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C's) National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), DoT's Chakshu platform, and Intelligence shared by banks and financial institutions.'DoT said that the FRI technology 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 said in the press release: 'The Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) of DoT regularly shares the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) with stakeholders, detailing numbers disconnected due to cybercrime links, failed re-verification, or misuse—many of which are tied to financial frauds.'The telecom department said that banks and financial institutions can use FRI in real time to take proactive steps like declining suspicious transactions, issuing alerts or warnings to customers, and delaying transactions flagged as high Wig, Co-founder & CEO, Innefu Labs says: 'Banks can leverage FRI to proactively alert customers about suspicious calls or messages originating from numbers identified as high-risk. By integrating FRI into their digital banking platforms, customer service workflows and fraud detection engines, banks can strengthen their ability to identify potential threats in real-time. Moreover, by coupling FRI data with AI-based risk scoring and user behaviour, analytics can help banks predict and prevent fraud before it occurs. This enhances customer trust and reduces financial exposure, while also helping law enforcement trace fraud networks more effectively.'Sheetal R Bhardwaj, executive member of Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (ACFCS), says: "Already adopted by major players like HDFC, ICICI, PhonePe, and Paytm, FRI enables institutions to flag suspicious activity, protect consumers, and reduce scam exposure. Its collaborative model bridges telecom and finance, creating a unified defense against cyber threats. As UPI continues to dominate India's payment landscape, FRI enhances transaction integrity and consumer confidence. With its scalable, data-driven approach, FRI could become a global model for fintech-telecom collaboration in fraud prevention—positioning India as a leader in digital trust."DoT further said: 'This move marks a new era of digital trust and security, reinforcing the Government's broader Digital India vision. DoT continues to work closely with RBI-regulated entities to streamline alert mechanisms, accelerate fraud detection, and integrate telecom intelligence directly into banking workflows. As more institutions adopt FRI into their customer-facing systems, it is expected to evolve into a sector-wide standard, reinforcing trust, enabling real-time decision-making, and delivering greater systemic resilience across India's digital financial architecture.'ET Wealth Online has asked various experts about how DoT's FRI technology can help consumers, here's what they said:There are few countries who use similar technology like USA, UK, Singapore, Australia, China etc. This latest development layers telecom intelligence into banking workflows, creating a proactive fraud shield:Here's how banks can use TRI technology to help their customers in respect to cyber fraud:Strengths of this technology:The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), launched by the Department of Telecommunications' Digital Intelligence Unit, is more than a fraud detection tool—it's a digital trust enabler. By classifying mobile numbers based on fraud risk using data from cybercrime portals, telecom intelligence, and financial institutions, FRI empowers banks and UPI providers to take real-time, preventive action.
Hindustan Times
03-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Incidents of cyber-crime low, officials tells House panel
Government officials have claimed in a Parliamentary panel meeting that incidents of cyber-crime are low although lawmakers were not entirely convinced and sought new measures, stronger laws and more focus in rural areas where financial literacy and awareness campaigns are limited, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named. Incidents of cyber-crime low, officials tells House panel In the home affairs panel meeting, the Union finance ministry's Department of Financial Services (DFS) told the lawmakers that for every ₹ 10,000 of transaction only 9 paisa is fraud—which is a very 'low level' . But MPs, cutting across party lines argued that government agencies must strengthen their financial and digital literacy drive in rural areas where a vast section of the population receives government aid digitally through direct benefits transfer. According to one of the people cited above, a government official, TDP's Krishna Prasad Tenneti and others raised the issue of the vulnerable population and pointed out that at least 65% of the Indian population lives in rural areas. While appreciating DBT (direct benefits transfer), the lawmakers, the official added, pointed to the importance of educating people on being safe online. ASP KR lawmaker Chandra Shekhar, Congress' Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, and BJP's Soumitra Khan were among the other members who spoke about the same issue. Some lawmakers argued that parking proceeds of cybercrime abroad is a matter of national concern. According to the NCRB data, 50035, 52974 and 65893 cyber crime cases were registered across the country in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively. The NCRB has not released its data since then. The officials informed the lawmakers that on June 30, the Reserve Bank of India asked all Scheduled Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, and Co-operative Banks to integrate the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) developed by DoT into their systems. This is a risk-based metric that classifies a mobile number to have been associated with Medium, High, or Very High risk of financial fraud, according to a government press release issued on Wednesday. In 2023, a RBI report to the standing committee on finance had said that a number of steps including a threshold for transactions in new accounts, a Central 'negative registry' of the accounts of known fraudsters and a standard operating procedure to stop the downstream flow of funds once a fraud is reported have been suggested by Indian banks to stop online frauds. The two-day meeting on 'Cyber Crime - Ramifications, Protection and Prevention' of the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs started here on Wednesday. Officials from Department of Financial Services, Public and Private banks, Department of Telecommunications Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY); and Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), MeitY briefed the MPs. The panel is headed by BJP's Radha Mohan Das Agrawal. On Thursday, the panel invited external affairs ministry officials, and CBI and NIA officials to discuss the issue. The Ministry of Home Affairs has set up the 'Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre' (I4C) to deal with all types of cyber crime in the country, in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
RBI advises banks to integrate DoT's financial fraud technology
The Reserve Bank of India has advised all banks to integrate the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator tool developed by the Department of Telecom to curb online fraudulent transactions, an official statement said on and financial institutions can use the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) in real time, which classifies mobile numbers based on their association with medium, high or very high risk of financial fraud. The data is collected from various sources, including reporting on the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C's) National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), DoT's Chakshu platform, and Intelligence shared by banks and financial institutions. "The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) welcomes the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) advisory issued on June 30, 2025, directing all scheduled commercial banks, small finance banks, payments banks, and co-operative banks to integrate the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) developed by DoT into their systems," the statement said. Launched in May 2025 by DoT's Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU), the system's utility has already been demonstrated, with leading institutions like PhonePe, Punjab National Bank , HDFC Bank , ICICI Bank , Paytm , and India Post Payments Bank actively using the platform. "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 fraud in both telecom and financial domains," the statement said. DoT called the RBI move a "watershed moment in the fight against cyber-enabled financial frauds" and a testament to the power of inter-agency collaboration in safeguarding citizens in India's growing digital economy. "It also underscores the strategic importance of automating data exchange between banks and DoT's DIP through API-based integration, enabling real-time responsiveness and continuous feedback to further refine the fraud risk models," the statement said.
Hindustan Times
03-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Banks advised to adopt fraud risk indicator
All banks have been advised to prevent cyber frauds by employing the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) real-time, risk-based metric — Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) — which would help them in declining suspicious transactions, issuing alerts or warnings to customers, and delaying transactions flagged as high risk, a finance ministry official said. Banks advised to adopt fraud risk indicator The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has already issued an advisory last month to this effect, directing all scheduled commercial banks, payments banks and co-operative banks to integrate FRI developed by DoT into their systems, the official, who did not wish to be named, said. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the ministry of communications welcomed RBI's directive. 'This is a watershed moment in the fight against cyber-enabled financial frauds and a testament to the power of inter-agency collaboration in safeguarding citizens in India's growing digital economy,' it said. The DoT is an arm of the ministry. The system is of strategic importance of automating data exchange between banks and DoT's digital intelligence platform DIP through API-based integration, enabling real-time responsiveness and continuous feedback to further refine the fraud risk models, it said. 'The system's utility has already been demonstrated with leading institutions such as PhonePe, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Paytm, and India Post Payments Bank actively using the platform,' the statement said. With UPI being the most preferred payment method across India, this intervention could save millions of citizens from falling prey to cyber fraud, it said. The FRI allows for swift, targeted, and collaborative action against suspected frauds in both telecom and financial domains. FRI, launched in May 2025 by the Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) of DoT, is a risk-based metric that classifies a mobile number to have been associated with medium, high, or very high risk of financial fraud. This classification is an outcome of inputs obtained from various stakeholders including reporting on Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre's (I4C) National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), DoT's Chakshu platform, and intelligence shared by banks and financial institutions, it said. 'It empowers stakeholders-especially banks, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), and unified payment interface (UPI) service providers- to prioritise enforcement and take additional customer protection measures in case a mobile number has high risk,' it said. The Digital Intelligence Unit regularly shares the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) with stakeholders, detailing numbers disconnected due to cybercrime links, failed re-verification, or misuse—many of which are tied to financial frauds, it added. This move marks a new era of digital trust and security, reinforcing the government's broader 'Digital India' vision, it said. As more institutions adopt FRI into their customer-facing systems, it is expected to evolve into a sector-wide standard, reinforcing trust, enabling real-time decision-making, and delivering greater systemic resilience across India's digital financial architecture, it said.
India Gazette
02-07-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
DoT welcomes RBI advisory mandating banks to integrate financial fraud risk indicator
New Delhi [India], July 2 (ANI): The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) welcomes the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) advisory, directing all Scheduled Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, and Co-operative Banks to integrate the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) developed by DoT into their systems. The Ministry of Communications stated in a release that the advisory marks a watershed moment in the fight against cyber-enabled financial frauds and serves as a testament to the power of inter-agency collaboration in safeguarding citizens in India's growing digital economy. The apex bank issued the advisory on June 30, 2025. The Ministry stated that it also emphasises the strategic importance of automating data exchange between banks and the DoT's DIP through API-based integration, enabling real-time responsiveness and continuous feedback to further refine the fraud risk models. The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), launched in May 2025 by DoT's Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU), is a risk-based metric that classifies a mobile number to have been associated with Medium, High, or Very High risk of financial fraud. This classification is an outcome of inputs obtained from various stakeholders including reporting on Indian Cyber Crime 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 prioritise enforcement and take additional customer protection measures in case a mobile number has high risk. The Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) of DoT regularly shares the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) with stakeholders, detailing numbers disconnected due to cybercrime links, failed re-verification, or misuse--many of which are tied to financial frauds. Banks and financial institutions can use FRI in real time to take preventive measures such as declining suspicious transactions, issuing alerts or warnings to customers, and delaying transactions flagged as high risk. The system's utility has already been demonstrated with leading institutions such as PhonePe, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Paytm, and India Post Payments Bank actively using the platform. 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 fraud in both telecom and financial domains. 'DoT remains committed to supporting banks and financial institutions in their efforts to combat cyber-enabled fraud by deploying technology-led, nationally coordinated solutions like the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator. This move marks a new era of digital trust and security, reinforcing the Government's broader Digital India vision,' the Ministry stated in the release. The release further added that DoT continues to work closely with RBI-regulated entities to streamline alert mechanisms, accelerate fraud detection, and integrate telecom intelligence directly into banking workflows. As more institutions adopt FRI into their customer-facing systems, it is expected to evolve into a sector-wide standard, reinforcing trust, enabling real-time decision-making, and delivering greater systemic resilience across India's digital financial architecture. (ANI)
