ISLAMABAD:
More than a dozen members of parliament, including senators and MPs, have been victims of cyber fraud involving hundreds of thousands of rupees, online harassment and identity theft, a parliamentary panel reported on Tuesday.
Officials from the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) briefed lawmakers on a growing wave of online fraud targeting public representatives during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on the Interior.
The panel was told that more than a dozen senators and MNAs were defrauded, money was taken from several victims and the identities of others were abused.
Some suspects have been arrested, while efforts are underway to locate 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 the case have since been arrested and the amount has been recovered.
Similarly, Senator Bilal Ahmed Mandokhail was also defrauded after fraudsters impersonated the governor, while Rs 490,000 was fraudulently stolen from Sahibzada Hamid Raza.
Senator Faisal Rehman, MNA Raja Khurram Nawaz and Naz Baloch were also subjected to online harassment and defamation.
In another case, a fake profile was created on social media using the photograph of Senate Vice President Syedaal Khan, while Senator Palwasha was duped on the pretext of making online investments.
The NCCIA informed the committee that of the 11 reported cases, investigations were still ongoing in three, while in six cases the suspects had been arrested and the stolen money recovered.
Briefing the committee, NCCIA official DIG Irfanullah said the agency had received 157,000 complaints, of which 6,029 cases were formally registered, while 65,431 complaints were converted into investigations.
Commenting on the magnitude of the problem, the committee chair noted that the volume of complaints indicated widespread fraud affecting the public.
DIG Irfanullah acknowledged that the agency was facing severe manpower shortage and revealed 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 recruitment, specialized training for staff and the establishment of 64 NCCIA police stations across the country.
He said despite limited staff, the agency was seeing encouraging results.
The Home Secretary also flagged a wider eligibility problem, stating that many people rent out their bank accounts, which are then used to funnel fraud proceeds.
Account holders receive small commissions, while scammers keep most of the money. He said the government had written to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), urging it to strengthen banking security measures to curb such practices.
