The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) Karachi carried out a major raid in DHA Phase II Extension on Thursday and busted an organised illegal call centre allegedly involved in international online financial fraud.
Officials said the operation was conducted after receiving intelligence reports regarding suspicious cyber activities being operated from a residential premises in the area. During the raid, NCCIA officials discovered that the call centre agents were impersonating representatives of foreign banks and contacting overseas citizens to obtain confidential banking and personal information. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were targeting foreign nationals by posing as customer support officers of banks and financial institutions.
Officials said the accused used fraudulent tactics to obtain sensitive information, including social security numbers, phone numbers, dates of birth, mothers’ names and CVV codes of bank cards. The stolen information was allegedly used to conduct illegal transactions, charge merchant accounts and gain financial benefits through cyber fraud.
During the operation, NCCIA teams recovered a large quantity of digital evidence from the premises. The seized items included 10 laptops, six mobile phones and banking data belonging to thousands of foreign nationals. All devices and relevant records were taken into custody for forensic examination and technical analysis.
Authorities confirmed that seven suspects were arrested from the call center during the raid. A case has been registered against the accused, who have been taken into physical remand for further investigation.
According to NCCIA officials, an FIR has been registered under sections 3, 4, 13, 14, 16 and 26 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), along with sections 34 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Officials said further investigations are underway to identify other members of the network and trace possible international links connected to the cybercrime operation.
