LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), Lahore, on Thursday arrested 11 suspects during different operations against alleged cyber fraud and illegal call centres, recovering laptops, mobile phones and digital data, reportedly linked to fraudulent activities.
According to the NCCIA, the operations were carried out against groups allegedly involved in obtaining citizens’ financial information by posing as bank officials and representatives of various service companies. The agency also targeted illegal call centres allegedly involved in using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to make calls to victims in Pakistan and abroad.
In one case involving an alleged fraud of around Rs1 million, the NCCIA arrested suspects Aslam, Huzaifa, Abdul Rauf, Jan Muhammad, Asghar and Umar Usman.
The agency says the suspects allegedly posed as bank managers and contacted citizens by telephone, offering them financial incentives to persuade them to open accounts in their own names.
According to the NCCIA, the accounts were subsequently used to withdraw funds.
Two mobile phones were recovered from the suspects, the agency adds.
In a separate operation at an allegedly illegal call centre in Al-Qadir Plaza, Gulberg III, the NCCIA arrested Ahsan Rizwan, Muhammad Ahmed and Irfan Khalid Hussain, recovering eight laptops and three mobile phones from the premises. An initial examination of the devices revealed VoIP software, credit and debit card-related information and mobile phone numbers.
The NCCIA also conducted a raid on another call centre in Barkat Market, Garden Town, arresting Adeel Shehzad and Ali Adnan, recovering five laptops, six computers and one mobile phone.
According to the agency, the suspects allegedly posed as representatives of service companies while making calls to citizens in the United Kingdom and other countries.
The NCCIA says the digital devices recovered during the operations had been sent for forensic examination. Investigators are also examining financial transactions, identifying more victims and tracing other individuals allegedly linked to such networks.
The agency says further action will be taken on the basis of the forensic findings and the ongoing investigation. - The Dawn/ANN
