The agreement establishes a structured data-sharing mechanism aimed at early detection and disruption of fraudulent activities in the securities market. Under the arrangement, DoT will share the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) with SEBI to identify mobile numbers linked to suspicious activity through multi-dimensional analysis.
Additionally, the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) will be shared automatically, enabling SEBI-regulated entities such as brokers and asset management companies to ensure that investor accounts are linked only to valid and active mobile connections.
In a reciprocal arrangement, SEBI will provide inputs on telecom resources associated with accounts involved in cyber fraud, impersonation, or money mule activities. This will allow authorities to take swift action in the telecom domain and prevent misuse of communication infrastructure.
The intelligence exchange will be facilitated through DoT’s Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), which connects over 1,400 stakeholders and enables real-time sharing of actionable information.
The collaboration is aimed at enabling a shift from reactive enforcement to proactive prevention in India’s expanding digital investment ecosystem. The FRI system, drawing inputs from multiple agencies, will act as an early warning mechanism to flag potentially fraudulent mobile connections.
Under existing initiatives, over 88 lakh fraudulent mobile connections have been disconnected, while the deployment of FRI has helped prevent financial losses of around ₹2300 crore over the past ten months.
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The MoU will also support the development of standard operating procedures and institutional-level sharing of red-flag indicators to enhance investor protection.
