The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has arrested two suspects allegedly linked to a cyber-fraud network that impersonated bank officials to steal sensitive banking information from victims in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The arrests come amid an intensified crackdown on gangs involved in online fraud and banking scams.
According to officials, the case began when a complainant received calls from WhatsApp numbers whose users posed as bank representatives, claiming to conduct routine verification and security checks on his bank account and debit card.
Through this impersonation, the suspects allegedly convinced the complainant to share sensitive details, including his ATM/debit card PIN and information about a second bank account.
Unauthorised transactions worth approximately Rs338,350 were subsequently made from the complainant’s accounts. Investigators traced the transactions to a local mart in Peshawar, where records confirmed that a mobile phone had been purchased using the complainant’s card without his authorisation.
Acting on these findings, an NCCIA Abbottabad raiding team traveled to Peshawar and arrested Muhammad Adeel, a resident of Sargodha district, and Zain-ul-Abideen, a resident of Islamabad.
NCCIA Additional Director Nisar Ahmad Khan said the investigation revealed the involvement of two additional suspects.
He added that the group shared fraudulently obtained banking information among its members, using it to purchase mobile phones and other electronic items, which were then resold in the market.
