The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has arrested 273 people in a raid on a call centre on Sharea Faisal in Karachi, in connection with an alleged international financial fraud network. Additional Director Shahzad Akbar announced the arrests at a press conference on Thursday.
The operation was carried out on Nov 4 at a premises near Kavish Crown Plaza. Investigators seized 339 laptops, 152 cell phones and four computers.
According to Akbar, the call centre operated under the name Voxtron Solutions. Preliminary findings indicate it targeted foreign nationals through impersonation, identity misuse and caller ID spoofing, under the pretext of providing debt validation services.
Staff allegedly posed as representatives of foreign banks and debt validation service providers. They contacted people abroad and offered to verify their outstanding financial obligations.
Akbar said investigators have “reasonable grounds” to suspect the scheme was designed to obtain sensitive personal and financial information, including Social Security Numbers and payment card credentials.
The information was allegedly used to carry out unauthorised transactions through merchant accounts. The proceeds were reportedly sent to Pakistan through company accounts and remittance channels, indicating possible cross-border movement of illicit funds.
All recovered evidence has been taken into custody and referred for technical examination and digital forensic analysis.
A case has been registered under Sections 3 (unauthorised access to information system or data), 4 (unauthorised copying or transmission of data), 13 (electronic forgery), 14 (electronic fraud), 16 (unauthorised use of identity information) and 26 (spoofing) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.
Relatives of the suspects and local residents later staged a protest near the Baloch Colony Bridge on Sharea Faisal, disrupting traffic on the road. The protesters demanded the release of the detainees, including around 100 women arrested at the call centre. They said their children worked there and had no involvement in illegal activity.
A traffic police spokesperson said traffic was diverted to alternative routes. Police and traffic officials held talks with the protesters, who dispersed. Traffic was restored by 1:22pm.
Last week, the agency said it had arrested more than 40 suspects in a raid on another alleged illegal call centre on Sharea Faisal, which it also accused of defrauding foreigners.
