Islamabad:
In a major breakthrough in the survey of the illegal sale of personal data from Pakistani citizens, investigators identify 139 platforms allegedly involved in the racket, he emerged on Wednesday.
According to sources, cases should be recorded soon, followed by the arrests of the managers.
According to sources from the Ministry of the Interior, a special investigation team (SIT) of the National Cyber Crime Inquiry Agency (NCCIA) has completed a substantial part of its survey on the sale of data from citizens on the Internet and social media.
During the investigation, the investigators found that the illegal company was managed by 139 online platforms.
The SIT found 18 mobile applications, 17 websites and two YouTube channels that sell data for money. In addition, 75 Facebook pages, 10 Instagram accounts, 12 telegrams channels and 10 Tiktok accounts were identified as being directly involved in the racket.
Investigators revealed that some operators had created dedicated Facebook pages and WhatsApp groups to openly market their services, attracting buyers for stolen or disclosed data.
“In some cases, even these platforms have fueled their own customers by taking payments, then disappearing, closing the numbers or sending false data,” a source revealed.
The NCCIA team should soon go to the second phase of its operation, where formal cases will be recorded and arrests made.
The survey was launched after Express News was reported for the first time on the sale of citizens’ data last year in 2024, and again on September 7 of this year, when he released another report exhibiting a new leak. The Minister of the Interior, Syed Mohin Naqvi, subsequently noted, ordering a complete investigation and ordering that the officials be brought to justice.
Following his instructions, the director general of the NCCIA Waqaruddin Syed formed the SIT and responsible him to finish the investigation within 14 days.
Although the team asked later, and was granted, three additional weeks, sources said that it had now completed key parts of its work and is ready to continue.
