New Delhi, Sept. 26 -- The department of telecommunications' Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) has blocked at least 4.8 million fraudulent transactions since its launch in May, preventing citizens from losing more than Rs.140 crore to scammers. The success comes as DoT signed a memorandum of understanding with the finance ministry's Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) on Thursday, expanding the anti-fraud network's reach. Under the agreement, DoT will share data from its FRI system and Mobile Number Revocation List, while FIU-IND provides details of mobile numbers linked to suspicious transactions, money mule accounts, and cyber fraud cases. "The idea is to stop crime at its source, preventing citizens from unknowingly handing over their hard-earned money to fraudsters," a DoT official said. "The focus now is on empowering users, rather than chasing fraudsters after damage is done." FRI classifies mobile numbers as medium, high, or very high risk for financial fraud. The system identifies 4,000-5,000 high or very high risk numbers daily. When users attempt payments through platforms like PhonePe, medium-risk numbers trigger warning pop-ups advising caution. High and very high-risk classifications can result in complete transaction blocks, though individual banks and payment providers determine specific blocking policies....