NCCIA detains 212 over alleged international cyber fraud

ISLAMABAD: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has detained 212 people during raids on three suspected illegal call centres in Islamabad, officials said on Tuesday.

The operations were carried out over the past 24 hours as part of a wider crackdown on organised cyber fraud and networks allegedly targeting people abroad.

According to the NCCIA spokesperson, teams raided call centres operating in sectors E-11 and G-10. A total of 212 individuals, including Pakistani and Chinese nationals, were taken into custody for questioning.

Authorities also seized a large quantity of electronic equipment during the raids. The recovered items included 306 mobile phones, 383 computers and CPUs, and 299 monitors and laptops.

The agency said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspects were allegedly involved in international fraud schemes using Google-related scams and so-called “low-dating” schemes.

The network was also allegedly connected to operations in India and Brazil, according to investigators.

A case has been registered and further investigation is underway to determine the exact nature of the alleged activities and identify other individuals who may be linked to the network.

Earlier operations against scam networks

The latest crackdown comes days after the NCCIA detained 27 suspects, including four Afghan nationals, during an operation against an alleged international scam call centre in Karachi.

Investigators said the suspects allegedly presented themselves as authorised representatives of financial institutions and contacted people in other countries through spoofed or fraudulent calls.

They were accused of attempting to obtain personal and financial information from their targets.

In August, the agency also arrested 114 foreign nationals, including 111 Chinese and three Vietnamese citizens, in Islamabad over allegations of operating a cyber-romance and sextortion network from a registered IT company.

According to investigators, members of that network allegedly contacted foreign nationals through online conversations and video calls before using private material to pressure victims and obtain money.

The NCCIA has said its recent operations are part of efforts to dismantle organised cybercrime networks operating from Pakistan and targeting victims in other countries.