The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has arrested more than 270 people and seized 339 laptops during a major crackdown on cyber fraud networks operating in Karachi, Additional Director NCCIA Shahzad Akbar said, warning that no one involved in the illegal activities would be spared.
Speaking about the operation on Thursday, he said cybercrime was rapidly increasing, with traditional criminal activities also shifting to digital platforms. Unlike conventional offences, he said, cybercrime had no geographical boundaries and perpetrators could conceal their identities through fake accounts and identification documents.
He disclosed that around 300 to 350 fraudulent call centres were operating in Karachi and targeting people through different scams. The agency had recently taken action against three major companies, including one of the country’s prominent business operations, and conducted a raid at Kavish Crown Plaza on Sharea Faisal.
Akbar said the company raided by the agency had previously faced action but had resumed its illegal activities. This time, the NCCIA had decided to proceed against the entire network rather than limiting action to its owners. He said approximately 100 women and 42 teenagers, including boys and girls, were among those involved in the network. More than 200 people had been arrested during the operation, while investigators had registered a case against the entire network.
The agency seized 339 laptops from the premises, each containing different fake identities and valuable financial information, including credit card details. The suspects allegedly used attractive offers and deceptive tactics to obtain confidential information and drain money from credit card holders’ accounts.
Additional Director Akbar said the operation had uncovered an extensive international fraud network, through which thousands of foreign nationals had also been targeted. However, local citizens, including retired people, were also being deceived through various fraudulent schemes.
The seized laptops also contained data belonging to thousands of foreign nationals, raising concerns about the international reach of the criminal operation. Akbar said the investigation had revealed links involving money laundering, hawala and hundi transactions, as well as merchants allegedly facilitating the movement of illegally obtained funds.
Expressing serious concern over the involvement of school-age children in cybercrime, Akbar said the agency had decided to take strict action against those exploiting minors for illegal activities. Parents of children found involved in such offences could also be brought into the investigation under Section 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code, he added.
He further disclosed that the agency had recently rescued a girl who was a victim of exploitation through the dark web, while several other significant operations had also been carried out against cybercriminals. He said the NCCIA was simultaneously investigating online drug supply networks operating through digital platforms, particularly those targeting educational institutions. Cases involving fraudulent online employment offers had also come to light, prompting the agency to expand its investigations.
In the major operation, 273 suspects were taken into custody. The operation was conducted at a premises located near Kavish Crown Plaza, Block 7/8, Sharea Faisal, Karachi, in connection with an ongoing inquiry into an alleged international cyber-enabled financial fraud network and call center. During the operation, the investigating team identified an organized call centre operating under the name Voxtron Solutions, which, according to preliminary findings, was allegedly engaged in fraudulent activities targeting foreign nationals through impersonation, identity misuse and caller ID spoofing techniques. Initial investigations indicate that the facility was allegedly operating under the pretext of providing Debt Validation (DV) services.
Personnel associated with the operation reportedly impersonated representatives of foreign banking institutions and debt validation service providers, contacting individuals abroad and offering assistance in the verification and validation of their outstanding financial obligations. Investigators have established reasonable grounds to suspect that the alleged scheme was designed to induce victims into disclosing sensitive personal and financial information, including Social Security Numbers and payment card credentials, such as card expiry dates and Card Verification Values (CVVs).
Preliminary findings further suggest that the information obtained through these alleged fraudulent practices was subsequently exploited to facilitate unauthorized financial transactions through merchant accounts. The proceeds generated through these transactions were reportedly transferred to Pakistan through company accounts and remittance channels, indicating possible cross-border movement of illicit funds.
The NCCIA team seized a substantial quantity of electronic equipment and digital material suspected to have been used in the commission of the alleged offences. The seized material includes 339 laptops, 152mobile phones, 4CPUs, banking and financial information relating to thousands of foreign nationals, digital storage devices, software and other electronic evidence relevant to the investigation.
An FIR has been registered under various sections of the Peca-2016 Amended 2025, including Section 3 (unauthorized access to information system or data), Section 4 (unauthorized copying or transmission of data), Section 13 (electronic forgery), Section 14 (electronic fraud), Section 16 (unauthorized use of identity information), Section 26 (spoofing).
Physical remand
The NCCIA produced 273 suspects before a judicial magistrate in a case pertaining to alleged fraudulent activities targeting foreign nationals through a call centre.
The suspects were arrested during a raid on alleged illegal call centre in Dar-ul-Aman Society on Wednesday. The investigating officer produced the suspects before the judicial magistrate (East) through a video link and sought physical remand of some suspects for interrogation.
The magistrate remanded nine of them in NCCIA custody on physical remand for two days, while granted bail to the women suspects and juveniles against a surety bonds of Rs5,000 each. The remaining suspects were sent to jail on judicial remand.
According to the content of the FIR, the NCCIA raided an alleged illegal call centre operating at a house in Dar-ul-Aman Society, Block 7 & 8, Sharea Faisal, Karachi. During initial inspection of the premises, the NCCIA said that Syed Usman Shamsi, along with his brother co-owner Syed Asim Shamsi, was found to be involved in “suspicious/illegal activities at the call centre.”
“During the inspection, the digital devices present on the premises were initially subjected to a naked-eye examination,” read the FIR. “The preliminary examination revealed suspicious material indicating involvement in illegal financial fraud activities through call center operations.”
It said that call dialers and spoofing software used in the commission of such offences were also found, along with data relating to financial institutions and sensitive and confidential personal banking information of foreign nationals, which was active on an online cloud-based server.
“The initial interrogation and technical analysis of the seized digital devices revealed that the suspects present at the premises listed below were engaged in fraudulent activities, including making spoofed calls via a cloud-based dialer and CRM.”
“The suspects impersonated themselves as representatives of various US based debt resolution/settlement agencies etc. with the intent to carry out fraudulent and illegal transfers of funds by obtaining personal and sensitive information for wrongful gain. The on-spot interrogation further revealed that the suspects manipulated foreign nationals through carefully prepared scripts and rebuttals designed to deceive them to gain their trust.
Additionally, unauthorized possession of confidential data belonging to foreign nationals was also recovered. It has also come to light that these agents obtained social security numbers, mobile phone numbers, dates of birth, and bank credit card credentials by falsely representing themselves as authorized representatives of regulated financial institutions of the United States of America, the NCCIA said, adding that these details were then transmitted to the call center owner via a CRM portal, who further shared them with merchants to address unauthorized charges/funds.
