Cyber scam: Four foreigners held in Islamabad

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) Islamabad has unearthed a major cyber fraud racket involving foreigners and Pakistani collaborators in a fake job scam that defrauded victims by extorting large sums of money through impersonation and digital manipulation.

Investigations were initiated after a formal complaint was lodged by Aamir Azeem Abbasi, a resident of Islamabad, who reported significant financial losses from a deceptive online job scheme. Acting on the complaint, the NCCIA conducted a probe which led to a raid on a setup in Sardar Plaza, G-10 Markaz, Islamabad. The accused were found impersonating representatives of a fake company targeting foreign nationals under the pretext of offering job opportunities, investment deals and cryptocurrency trading.

During the raid, five suspects identified as foreigners and Pakistani national Mohammed Zamil were arrested. All were in possession of valid passports and operating from a fully-equipped digital fraud setup. The authorities recovered incriminating digital evidence, including AI-generated photos, fake personas, internet conversations and software used for manipulating conversations through platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp.

According to an NCCIA report, the accused lured victims by impersonating company executives, offering fake job contracts and convincing them to transfer money under false pretenses. The operation used a sophisticated multi-tier structure involving ‘analysts’ to profile victims, ‘finance managers’ to handle crypto and fiat laundering, and ‘killers’ to empty bank accounts once access was gained. Charges have been registered under Sections 13 and 14 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016, read with Sections 419, 420, 34, and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Further investigations have been entrusted to Inspector Ashir Aroon under the supervision of an NCCIA additional director.

Later, Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah approved two-day physical remand of the five accused. The prosecutor requested the physical remand of the accused, saying that the arrested persons were involved in running an illegal call centre. The foreign accused will be presented in court again on July 16.