The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) arrested 149 people during a raid in the call center involved in a Ponzi scheme, the agency said in its statement published on Thursday.
Of those arrested, 71 are foreign citizens, with most identified as Chinese citizens. The authorities say that the operation was aimed at people through fraudulent schemes that use digital platforms and telephone calls.
According to the agency, the fraudulent call center was involved in Ponzi schemes and several investment scams. It was being used as a front to deceive the public and attract them to financial traps under the appearance of lucrative investment opportunities.
The agency also said that the fraud network was actively cheating on people and illegally raising large sums of money. These funds were accumulating through deceptive practices and unauthorized channels, which represents a serious threat to financial security and public trust.
“Through this fraudulent network, the public was being cheated and great sums of money were being collected,” the agency said.
The agency said they were acting in a warning on the network, operating in the city of Faisalabad, a manufacturing center in the east of the country.
He said the raid was in the residence of Tasheen Awan, the former head of the city’s electricity network.