14 suspects held for online financial fraud

LAHORE, Jul 27 (APP): The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on Monday arrested 14 suspects from Lahore and Multan in a major crackdown on online financial fraud, fake identities and social media scams.

According to an NCCIA spokesperson, four suspects were arrested in Lahore in three separate cases. They were identified as Muhammad Amir, Muhammad Ashfaq, Muhammad Qamar and Ameer Kareem.

Initial investigations revealed that the suspects allegedly posed as marriage bureau representatives or close acquaintances to deceive victims into transferring money. Authorities said evidence suggested they had fraudulently obtained millions of rupees from citizens. Mobile phones used in the offences were also seized.

In Multan, authorities arrested 10 suspects in three separate operations. The arrested individuals were identified as Muhammad Asghar, Amir Shehzad, Muhammad Kamran, Rizwan Talib, Saqib Ali, Kamran Talib, Iftikhar Manzoor, Muhammad Adnan, Muhammad Sultan and Muhammad Naeem.

The spokesperson said the suspects allegedly impersonated officials of Customs, Police, banks and other government departments through social media and WhatsApp. They reportedly lured victims by offering fake prizes, gifts and donations or on the pretext of bank verification and parcel clearance to obtain money fraudulently.

The spokesperson said one case involved alleged fraud amounting to Rs1 million, while another involved Rs588,000.

During the operations, NCCIA recovered mobile phones, SIM cards, fake WhatsApp accounts, social media accounts and other digital evidence, which was being subjected to forensic examination.

Cases have been registered against the suspects under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, as amended in 2025, along with relevant provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code. Further investigations are underway, while efforts are continuing to arrest other facilitators linked to the cyber fraud networks.