LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on Monday busted a gang involved in hacking mobile phones and WhatsApp accounts to defraud people, arresting 15 suspects from different parts of the province.

According to NCCIA Punjab Director Muhammad Ali Wasim, the gang would contact citizens through WhatsApp, impersonating senior government officials and first building friendly relations with potential victims.

“They would then demand money from victims on various pretexts, including fake taxes and processing fees.” Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects also lured citizens through fake prize schemes and gift offers.

During the process, they allegedly gained unauthorised access to victims’ mobile phones and WhatsApp accounts. After hacking the accounts, the gang reportedly used the victims’ contact lists and phone numbers to target and trap more people.

During the operation, the NCCIA recovered 16 mobile phones, several fake WhatsApp accounts, suspicious voice messages, and forged JazzCash accounts allegedly used in the fraud.

The arrested suspects were identified as Tehseen Saeed, Muhammad Sadaam, Muhammad Ahsan, Muhammad Sohail, Muhammad Shaan, Muhammad Rehan, Muhammad Muzammil, Zain Abbas, Umair Bashir, Ijaz Ahmed, Ali Hassan, Bahadur Ali, Muhammad Tariq, Muhammad Asif, and Mohsin Ishtiaq. The suspects were arrested during raids conducted in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur. The NCCIA said efforts were under way to trace other facilitators of the network and that further arrests were expected.

Meanwhile, the NCCIA also arrested two individuals in separate cases for allegedly sexually harassing and blackmailing women in Lahore and Faisalabad.

According to an NCCIA spokesperson, suspects Haziq Mahmood and Zeeshan Nawaz were arrested under Sections 20 and 24 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016, following complaints lodged by two women.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2026