ISLAMABAD: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has busted a gang of foreigners operating a call centre with the intent to extort money from citizens, and arrested five suspects.

The NCCIA said the gang had accomplices in various countries who stole money from citizens’ bank accounts under the pretext of online earning schemes.

In connection with the crime, the agency registered a case under Sections 13 (electronic forgery) and 14 (electronic fraud) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016, along with sections 419 (Punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 109 (punishment of abetment where no express provision is made) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The case was registered in response to a complaint lodged by Aamir Azeem Abbasi.

NCCIA says suspects used to steal money from bank accounts of people under pretext of online earning schemes

According to the FIR, a complaint was made to the additional director of NCCIA Islamabad regarding a task-based scam resulting in financial loss to the complainant.

Upon conclusion of a regular enquiry on July 13, a source informed the agency that a criminal gang was operating a call centre located in Sardar Plaza, G-10 Markaz, Islamabad. The suspects, impersonating representatives of a fake and dubious online earning company, contacted people of different nationalities and lured them into fraudulent easy money-making schemes.

The additional director of the Cyber Crime Reporting Centre (CCRC) constituted a team to raid the call centre after obtaining search and seizure warrants from the court.

During the raid, digital equipment used in the scam was seized by the NCCIA. Five foreigners were found present at the crime scene but failed to present any lawful justification regarding the equipment.

Upon further investigation, the suspects confessed to engaging in electronic fraud through extortion and impersonation. Preliminary technical analysis revealed sufficient incriminating evidence connecting the suspects to the offences.

The suspects used internet-downloaded and AI-generated photos along with fake personas to initiate conversations with isolated or vulnerable individuals through social media platforms such as Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp.

The scammers operated in a multi-tier setup consisting of scammers who initially chatted with victims, Telegram receptionists who collected information on victims to lure them into more advanced tasks, finance managers who managed Binance accounts for receiving fraudulent funds generated through local and international scams, and accomplices of the suspects residing in foreign countries like Cambodia who stole money from their victims’ bank accounts under the pretext of online earning.

It was established that the suspects extorted large sums of money from both local and international victims by accessing confidential information and misusing such data for extortion. The fraudulent money was laundered via cryptocurrency wallets.

Consequently, the case was registered against the five foreigners. The investigation has been assigned to Inspector Ashir Aroon with the approval of the additional director CCRC Islamabad.

The role of any other involved persons, if identified, will be revealed during the ongoing investigation.

Following their arrest, the five suspects were produced before Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah, who granted NCCIA a two-day physical remand for interrogation and investigation.

The NCCIA said the suspects were involved in operating an illegal call centre and were part of an organised network committing online fraud. The court accepted the request and ordered the physical remand, with the accused set to be presented again on July 16.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2025