Mobile phone subscribers continue to receive phone calls and messages that impersonate the government’s social safety net, including the Benazir Income Support programme (BISP) and Ehsaas programme, to rip them off.
People are also receiving fake calls from imposters using the name of the Sindh Bank.
The swindlers were making calls from mobile numbers that could easily be traced and the imposters could be arrested but it seemed that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and police were least interested in pursuing these cases.
A resident of Korangi, requesting anonymity, told Minute Mirror that he received such calls on Saturdays at around 5pm.
“I received calls from 0321-4664785 and+28280033322. The caller pretending to be an employee of the bank sought my personal details, which I refused to give,” he said.
One of these numbers appears to be untraceable, the resident said, adding that the second number could be traced within no time by the bank and authorities concerned. He said that he had informed the Sindh Bank about the phone calls.
“I can only hope that they would take action against the caller, who might cheat other customers of the bank,” he said.
A number of residents of Karachi told Minute Mirror that they received lucky draw messages from 0307-4534209, 0315-7446524, 0318-4563456 and many other numbers.
Such unscrupulous persons were also cheating the people through online marketing.
Muhammad Maaz Khan, aged 19, a resident of Islamabad’s Sector G-10, told Minute Mirror: “I bought a video game online for Rs24,000. The seller belonged to Pakpattan and he sent me his mobile number so that the money could be transferred through easy paisa. I sent him Rs24,000. Then he started making excuses asking me for more money and finally he turned off his mobile.”
Khan said he contacted the FIA but his complaint fell on deaf ears
This scribe tried to contact Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar but her number was switched off.
Several attempts were also made to contact officers of Ehsaas programme but none of them were ready to offer any comments.
The State Bank of Pakistan was also contacted but officials there refused to speak on record. However, a senior officer, who wished not to be named, said, “It is a common fraud that people receive fake calls from imposters. We cannot stop them from calling, but we have told our customers through advertisements that banks do not make such calls. If we receive such phone numbers, we forward the same to the FIA for an inquiry.”
