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India's Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) has helped prevent cyber fraud losses worth approximately Rs 660 crore within just six months of its rollout, according to a Ministry of Communications release.
FRI, it said, underscored the growing impact of coordinated inter-agency action and citizen participation in combating digital financial crimes. Launched on May 22, 2025, FRI is being implemented through DoT's Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP). Achievements of the FRI are driven by active support of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), leading to large-scale onboarding of banks, financial institutions, and Third-Party Application Providers, (TPAPs) on the Digital Intelligence Platform, the release said. As on date, more than 1,000 banks, TPAPs, and Payment System Operators (PSOs), have onboarded the DIP and started adopting FRI actively, it added. India's cybercrime landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years, with fraudsters operating like well-organized digital cartels. From digital arrest scams to sophisticated SIM-box networks bypassing legal telecom routes, the threat is evolving faster than ever, the ministry highlighted. "Yet, amid this complexity, one factor has emerged as the most decisive force in combating cybercrime: Jan Bhagidari. Citizens, through Sanchar Saathi, which has emerged as India's most powerful crowdsourced cyber-intelligence tool, are providing continuous inputs for Financial Fraud Risk Indicator," it said. Sanchar Saathi, DoT's citizen-facing platform, has played a central role by functioning as a crowdsourced cyber-intelligence tool. Inputs from citizens reporting suspected fraud communications, fraudulent connections taken in their names, and lost or stolen mobile handsets are continuously feeding into the FRI framework. DoT acknowledged the contribution of vigilant citizens and "Cyber Warriors" using the Sanchar Saathi web portal and mobile application. Recent trends in app downloads and usage, the department said, reflect growing public trust and proactive engagement in preventing cyber fraud. DoT further urged all the citizens to utilize Sanchar Saathi web portal and Mobile App for availing the citizen centric services, and reiterated its commitment to fostering a secure digital payments ecosystem through inter-agency collaboration, proactive fraud detection, and intelligence-driven policy interventions. The continued cooperation of RBI, NPCI, SEBI, PFRDA, all banks, financial institutions, payment operators and Jan Bhagidari remains crucial to safeguarding India's rapidly expanding digital economy, the release said. (ANI)
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