SIU busts fake call centre involved in extortion through spoofed calls

The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) police, acting on information provided by suspects arrested from Boat Basin, raided a call centre in Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 14 and recovered 12 laptops used for spoofing-based extortion.

The police said the suspects were making spoofed calls to wealthy individuals in Pakistan and abroad, threatening and blackmailing them to extort money. According to SIU officials, data recovered from the laptops revealed that the suspects were using spoofing software to contact affluent individuals in Pakistan and overseas, through which they intimidated and demanded extortion payments from victims.

The SIU stated that on August 8, 2025, a trader was kidnapped within the jurisdiction of Tipu Sultan police station and later released after promising to pay Rs50 million. The suspects subsequently collected Rs8 million in installments as extortion money. A case was registered on August 13, and the investigation was later transferred to the SIU.

On October 20, the Boat Basin police arrested two suspects — Talal Afser alias Major Zafar, son of Afser Siddiqui, and Mubashir Gul — in connection with the case.

During interrogation, Afser revealed that he and his accomplices had been using spoofing software to demand extortion money. He further disclosed that after their fake call centre business became unprofitable, they shifted to a new method using spoofing technology, which allowed them to make internet-based calls displaying any number of their choice on the receiver’s screen, making it difficult for authorities to trace them.

Acting on his information, the SIU conducted a raid on the call centre; however, the main suspects — identified as Talha, Hafeez, and Moazzam — managed to flee. Raids were under way to arrest the absconding suspects.