Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) signed an MoU to enhance cooperation in tackling misuse of telecom resources in securities market frauds and investment-related scams.
Key Provisions of MoU
Data Sharing Mechanisms:
- DoT to SEBI: sharing of Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) to identify mobile numbers linked to suspicious patterns through multi-dimensional analysis
- Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) shared automatically with SEBI-regulated entities (brokers, AMCs) to ensure investor accounts are linked only to active and valid mobile connections
- SEBI to DoT: inputs on telecom resources linked to accounts involved in cyber fraud, impersonation or money mule activities for swift telecom-domain action
Platform:
- Intelligence exchange enabled through DoT’s Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) — currently connects 1,400+ stakeholders for real-time sharing of actionable information
Key Tools & Initiatives
- Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI): draws inputs from Chakshu facility (under Sanchar Saathi), financial institutions and Law Enforcement Agencies; acts as an early warning system for potentially fraudulent mobile connections
- Sanchar Saathi: DoT’s initiative under which 88 lakh+ fraudulent mobile connections have been disconnected using ASTR (Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition powered Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification)
- FRI deployment has helped prevent financial losses of approximately Rs 2,300 crore in the past 10 months