Lahore: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has detained a 10-member inter‑provincial gang suspected of impersonating overseas Pakistani relatives and tricking citizens into sending money under the pretext of urgent emergencies.
According to an NCCIA spokesperson, the suspects reached victims via WhatsApp numbers based abroad and employed caller‑masking technology to hide their identities.
They pretended to be close relatives residing abroad, falsely alleging visa, immigration or other urgent problems that required immediate financial help. To bolster the ruse, they supplied forged receipts and fabricated transaction slips before urging victims to transfer funds into bank accounts controlled by the gang, he said.
He said the operation, carried out in Sohan Garden, Islamabad, resulted in the arrest of all ten suspects, who are residents of Sindh. The detainees have been identified as Mohsin Braro, Muhammad Adil, Asadullah, Mashooq Ali, Arz Muhammad, Dilbar Ali, Daud, Fahad, Imtiaz Ali, and Ibtisam.
During the raid, the NCCIA team seized ten mobile phones containing WhatsApp chat logs, forged financial documents, foreign contact numbers, banking details, card information, and other digital evidence believed to be linked to the alleged offenses.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the gang defrauded a single victim of Rs1.02 million.
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