DoT, SEBI to share telecom intelligence to stop financial scams
The Department of Telecommunications and SEBI have signed an MoU to share telecom intelligence to curb financial frauds. The system will enable early detection of suspicious mobile numbers and strengthen coordination to prevent cyber-enabled investment scams across India’s financial markets
New Delhi: The Centre’s Department of Telecommunications and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to share telecom intelligence to reinforce the security of India’s financial ecosystem, an official statement said on Wednesday.
The agreement will strengthen the cooperation between the institutions in tackling the misuse of telecom resources in securities market frauds and investment-related scams.
A Communications Ministry statement said that the strategic partnership marked a significant step towards deeper convergence between telecom intelligence and financial market regulation.
The agreement is centred on a structured data-sharing mechanism aimed at early detection and disruption of fraudulent activities.
Under the agreement, DoT will share the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) with the SEBI to help identify mobile numbers linked to suspicious patterns through multi-dimensional analysis.
The Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) will also be shared automatically, enabling SEBI-regulated entities, including brokers and asset management companies, to ensure that investor accounts are associated only with active and valid mobile connections.
In a reciprocal arrangement, the SEBI will provide inputs on telecom resources linked to accounts involved in cyber fraud, impersonation or money mule activities, allowing swift action in the telecom domain.
DoT’s Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), which currently connects over 1400 stakeholders, will enable this intelligence exchange by facilitating real-time sharing of actionable information across institutions.
The collaboration assumes particular significance in the context of India’s rapidly expanding digital investment landscape. By integrating telecom intelligence with market surveillance systems, the MoU enables a transition from reactive enforcement to proactive prevention, the statement noted.
The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator, drawing upon inputs from DoT’s Chakshu facility under Sanchar Saathi, financial institutions and Law Enforcement Agencies, will act as an early warning system to flag potentially fraudulent mobile connections before they are leveraged for financial scams.
The partnership builds upon the strong foundation laid by DoT’s ongoing initiatives. Under Sanchar Saathi, over 88 lakh fraudulent mobile connections have already been disconnected using ASTR. The deployment of FRI has helped prevent financial losses of approximately Rs 2300 crore in the past ten months.
