‘Cyber fraud does not respect borders’: PM Modi seeks global mechanism at IMC 2026
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for a global mechanism to tackle cross-border cyber fraud and the growing threat of deepfakes. PM Modi appealed to governments, technology providers, telecom operators and financial institutions to collaborate to prevent digital fraud reaching users at the 10th India Mobile Congress (IMC) in New Delhi on October 8, 2026.
Modi stated that cybercrime is not confined to national boundaries and that the scalability of digital technology requires users to trust it. The Indian nation has also accumulated extensive experience in dealing with cyber fraud and is poised to share it with other nations, he added.
Modi urges global action against cyber fraud
“Technology achieves scale only when it gains trust,” Modi said, according to the Press Information Bureau (PIB) transcript of his October 8 address.
He noted that a criminal from one country may target a victim in another country with the assistance of a third country. Coordinated international action has become even more crucial with the introduction of deepfakes that add another layer to the challenge.
Modi urged the GSMA and telecoms companies across the globe to help develop a mechanism which can detect and prevent fraud before it reaches customers.
Phone and data security need stronger safeguards
The Prime Minister stated that growth in telecommunications should go hand in hand with enhanced security. For regular users, digital trust means knowing who is calling, verifying it’s a real message, and ensuring payments are safe and personal information is protected, he said.
“Cyber fraud and cyber crimes do not respect borders,” Modi said, stressing that governments, technology companies, telecom operators and financial institutions must work together.
These comments follow the adoption of smartphones and internet services as the mainstay of digital payments, education, healthcare and government services in India.
Modi highlights ₹50 lakh crore DBT transfers
Modi also talked about the digital governance framework and mobile-linked banking for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in India.
According to the PIB, Modi said nearly ₹50 lakh crore had been transferred directly to beneficiaries through the system. He said that the loss of ₹5 lakh crore was averted from ‘wrong hands’ due to leakages.
The government continued to work hard to curb such wastage and ensure public money reached the target users, Modi said.
India moving from technology consumer to creator
It was also a platform which Modi had used to highlight India’s evolving role in the global technology landscape. The nation has shifted from a technology consumption mode to a creation mode and has begun focusing on Indian designs, technology, and IP, he added.
He added that the 10th edition of IMC will help chart the course of the next decade in the mobile industry, both in India and across the globe.
