NCCIA arrests eight in illegal call centre raid in Lahore

LAHORE, Nov 03 (APP): The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) Lahore has arrested eight suspects, including two women, for operating an illegal call centre in Township and targeting British citizens through fraudulent telecommunications offers, recovering 53 digital devices during the raid.
Acting on a tip-off, an NCCIA team raided a house in Block One, Sector A-2, Township, after obtaining a search warrant from the competent court. The suspects were allegedly found involved in defrauding British citizens in the guise of providing telecommunications services.
According to initial investigations, the call centre was operating an AT&T campaign, offering British citizens discounts on mobile phone upgrades, SIM-only packages and other telecom services. The suspects allegedly used dialling software to make calls to people abroad and obtained their financial information to carry out illegal transactions and extract money through advance-fee scams.
The arrested suspects included six men and two women. The male suspects were identified as Tayyab Tariq, Ali Raza, Azeem Rehman, Muhammad Umar, Haseeb Asif and Hasnain Raza.
During the raid, the NCCIA seized 28 laptops, 10 desktop computers and 15 mobile phones. Initial examination of the devices revealed dialling software and data relating to calls made to British citizens.
Investigators have identified Tayyab Tariq and Amna Tariq as the alleged owners and administrators of the call centre. The seized devices have been secured for forensic analysis, while a case has been registered and further investigation is underway.
NCCIA Lahore Zone Additional Director Atif Ameer said that indiscriminate action against illegal call centres involved in targeting citizens and foreigners through cyber fraud would continue.