ISLAMABAD:
More than a dozen parliamentarians, including senators and MPs, were victims of cyber fraud involving hundreds of thousands of rupees, online harassment and identity theft, a parliamentary committee said on Tuesday.
National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) officials briefed lawmakers on a growing wave of online fraud targeting public officials during a meeting of the Senate Interior Standing Committee.
The panel was told that more than a dozen senators and representatives were defrauded, money was extorted from several victims and the identities of other victims were stolen.
Some suspects have been arrested, while efforts continue to track down others.
In a shocking revelation, NCCIA officials told the committee that Senator Falak Naz Chitrali received a call from a fraudster posing as the CEO of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital, who managed to extort Rs 485,000 from him.
The suspects in this case have since been arrested and the sum recovered.
Similarly, Senator Bilal Ahmed Mandokhail was also defrauded after scammers impersonated the governor, while Rs 490,000 was fraudulently withdrawn from Sahibzada Hamid Raza.
Senator Faisal Rehman, MP Raja Khurram Nawaz and Naz Baloch were also victims of online harassment and defamation.
In another case, a fake social media profile was created using the photograph of Deputy Senate Chairman Syedaal Khan, while Senator Palwasha was duped under the pretext of online investment.
The NCCIA informed the committee that out of 11 reported cases, investigations were still ongoing in three cases, while in six cases, suspects had been arrested and stolen money recovered.
Addressing the committee, NCCIA official DIG Irfanullah said the agency received 157,000 complaints, of which 6,029 cases were officially registered, while 65,431 complaints were converted into investigations.
Commenting on the scale of the problem, the commission chairman observed that the volume of complaints revealed widespread fraud affecting the public.
DIG Irfanullah admitted that the agency was facing a severe manpower shortage, revealing that the NCCIA currently had only 523 personnel across the country.
Responding to the concern, the Minister of State for Home Affairs said steps were being taken to strengthen the agency, including new recruitments, specialized training of staff and the establishment of 64 NCCIA police stations across the country.
He said that despite limited staff, the agency was achieving encouraging results.
The interior minister also highlighted a wider problem, saying many people rent out their bank accounts, which are then used to channel the proceeds of fraud.
Account holders receive small commissions, while most of the money is kept by the fraudsters. He said the government had written to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) urging it to strengthen banking security arrangements to combat such practices.
