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Context:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suggested all major banks (including commercial banks, small finance banks, payments banks, and co-operative banks) to start using the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI).  

What is the "Financial Fraud Risk Indicator"(FRI)?

It is a new tool, launched in May 2025, by the Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU), under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

It checks a mobile number and classifies it as having a Medium, High, or Very High risk of being linked to financial fraud.

The system has already proven its usefulness. Leading financial institutions and payment service providers are actively using the platform, including:

• PhonePe
• Punjab National Bank
• HDFC Bank
• ICICI Bank
• Paytm
• India Post Payments Bank

How does the FRI decide if a mobile number is risky?  

The FRI's classification comes from information collected from many different sources:

• National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP): This is part of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), where people report cybercrimes. The FRI uses these reports.
• DoT's Chakshu Platform: This is another platform from the Department of Telecommunications where suspicious activities, often related to telecom misuse for fraud, are reported.
• Intelligence from Banks & Financial Institutions: Banks and financial companies also share their own fraud intelligence with the DIU.
• Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL): The DIU regularly shares this list with banks. It details mobile numbers that have been disconnected because of links to cybercrime, failed re-verification checks, or general misuse. Many of these numbers are directly tied to financial frauds.

By combining all these inputs, the FRI builds a comprehensive risk profile for mobile numbers.

How will the FRI help banks to prevent cyber fraud?

The FRI empowers banks and other financial players like NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial Companies) and UPI (Unified Payments Interface) service providers to take immediate action.

Declining Suspicious Transactions => If a transaction involves a mobile number flagged as high risk by the FRI, banks can automatically stop or decline that transaction.

Issuing Alerts => Banks can send immediate alerts or warnings to their customers if their transaction involves a high-risk number, which makes the customer aware of a potential threat.

Prioritizing Enforcement => The FRI helps banks and other stakeholders focus their efforts on preventing fraud associated with the riskiest numbers.

Source: 

PIB