KARACHI: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on Thursday claimed to have conducted a major operation against an alleged international fraud network and arrested 273 people from a call centre located on Sharea Faisal.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, NCCIA Additional Director Shahzad Akbar said 339 laptops, 152 cell phones and four computers were seized during the operation.
“The NCCIA conducted a major enforcement operation on Nov 4 at a premises located near Kavish Crown Plaza in connection with an ongoing enquiry into an alleged international financial fraud network and call centre,” he said.
During the operation, the investigating team identified a call centre operating under the name Voxtron Solutions. According to preliminary findings, it was allegedly involved in fraudulent activities targeting foreign nationals through impersonation, identity misuse and caller ID spoofing, he said.
According to Akbar, initial investigations indicated that the facility was allegedly operating under the pretext of providing debt validation services.
“Personnel associated with the operation reportedly impersonated representatives of foreign banking institutions and debt validation service providers, contacting individuals abroad and offering assistance in the verification and validation of their outstanding financial obligations,” he stated.
The NCCIA official said investigators had established “reasonable grounds” to suspect that the alleged scheme was designed to induce victims into disclosing sensitive personal and financial information, including Social Security Numbers and payment card credentials.
He said preliminary findings further suggested that the information obtained was subsequently exploited to facilitate unauthorised financial transactions through merchant accounts.
The proceeds generated through these transactions were reportedly transferred to Pakistan through company accounts and remittance channels, indicating possible cross-border movement of illicit funds, he said.
Akbar said all recovered evidence and material was taken into official custody and referred for detailed technical examination and digital forensic analysis.
Akbar said 273 suspects were arrested for further investigation and proceedings and a case was registered under Sections 3 (unauthorised access to information system or data), 4 (unauthorised copying or transmission of data), 13 (electronic forgery), 14 (electronic fraud), 16 (unauthorised use of identity information) and 26 (spoofing) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca).
Families stage protest
Meanwhile, the suspects’ relatives and local residents staged a protest against the raid and arrests near the Baloch Colony Bridge on Sharea Faisal, disrupting the smooth flow of traffic along Karachi’s main artery.
The demonstrators protested the arrest of around 100 women from the call centre, claiming that their children worked there and had no involvement in illegal activities, demanding the suspects’ immediate release.
A traffic police spokesperson said that because of the protest, traffic was diverted on alternative routes. Local police and traffic officials held talks with the protesters and persuaded them to disperse. Traffic flow was restored on the main road by 1:22pm.
Last week, the agency claimed to have arrested over 40 suspects during a raid on an “illegal call centre” located on Sharea Faisal. An NCCIA spokesperson alleged that the call centre was involved in fraud against foreigners.
