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While pressure mounts internationally, particularly from the United States, to tackle scam call centers and fraudulent software houses thriving in Pakistan, as reported by insider sources, the hunt for scammers is in full swing.
The Pakistani government has intensified its crackdown, revealing in recent briefings to the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom actions that are being taken, which are seen as a start to a broader crackdown and systemic changes which are long overdue.
Government Response and Actions So Far:
The U.S. has reportedly urged Pakistan to strengthen its cybercrime response infrastructure, particularly through the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). This includes implementing mandatory licensing for call centers to enhance traceability and accountability. The U.S. has praised Pakistan’s counterterrorism cooperation, which extends to addressing cyber-enabled financial crimes, as seen in statements from U.S. officials like Gregory D. LoGerfo, Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism. The U.S. Department of Justice has historically targeted call center scams, particularly those in India, leading to significant convictions from 2013 to 2018. Efforts are now expanding to address Pakistan-based operations, with calls for stronger legislation and technology to disrupt these scams.
In response to increasing international scrutiny, a major cyber-fraud initiative known as Operation Grey was launched on June 5, 2025. The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) of Pakistan, along with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), briefed the Senate Committee on their recent efforts to dismantle networks involved in illegal call centers and fraudulent software houses.
NCCIA Raids and Arrests:
Over the past 18 months, the NCCIA conducted 63 raids nationwide, arresting a total of 195 Pakistani nationals and 255 foreign nationals. These operations resulted in 54 cases and exposed financial fraud amounting to over Rs. 720 million, with more than Rs. 40 million recovered.
City-wise Breakdown:
Islamabad:
– 17 raids conducted
– 193 arrests made (183 foreigners and 10 Pakistanis)
– Fraud worth Rs. 60 million exposed
Karachi:
– 19 raids conducted
– 44 arrests made out of 76 identified suspects
– No financial recovery reported, highlighting challenges in tracing digital transactions
Rawalpindi:
– 8 raids conducted
– 32 arrests made
– Rs. 5.8 million recovered
Faisalabad:
– 7 raids conducted
– 150 arrests made
– Rs. 200,000 recovered and 7 FIRs filed
Multan:
– 1 raid conducted
– All 8 suspects arrested
Lahore:
– 11 raids conducted
– 23 arrests made
Is Karachi’s Software Industry Being Exploited for Global Scam Networks?
Pakistan has had its fair share of surveillance controversies. In 2022, a leaked database exposed how local call centers were being used to phish financial data from foreign nationals. Earlier this year, investigative reporters revealed that thousands of Pakistani citizens were being monitored via compromised smartphones, with private data harvested and sold to third-party clients. Add to this the 2023 scandal where a Lahore-based call center was caught running a fake UAE visa processing scam, and you start to see a clear picture.
Sources believe Operation Grey has been launched as a response to a significant US government legal action that is impending, having to do with a large software house based in Karachi, a subsidiary of which was in May of 2025 indicted for trafficking illicit drugs to the United States.
The company in question has, at various points, had over 1500 employees in Pakistan. Investigators and other journalists covering the story have found that this Karachi-based enterprise has a significant presence in the United States with numerous employees working to form LLCs, open bank accounts, handle money transmission and more.
Karachi, Pakistan’s economic and technological hub, has increasingly gained international notoriety due to the proliferation of fraudulent software houses masquerading as legitimate technology firms.
These companies are locally referred to as “Software Houses”. These criminal enterprises exploit Pakistan’s booming IT sector, operating sophisticated scams that include fake eBook publishing, ghostwriting services, trademark registration scams, and are even allegedly involved in fentanyl drug trafficking, now under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Victims of these Karachi-based scams span across the globe, predominantly in the United States, the UK, and Canada, with many losing upwards of $100,000, resulting in severe personal, financial, and reputational harm. The global fallout from these scams is causing substantial damage to the reputation of Pakistan’s legitimate IT industry.
Exploitation of Employees: Attractive Promises, Harsh Realities
Criminal enterprises in Pakistan’s IT industry lure young professionals with attractive salaries and perks, masking exploitative conditions such as delayed or withheld pay and intimidation. This undermines ethical standards and targets vulnerable job seekers. The normalization of these practices leads to a cycle where today’s exploited workers may become tomorrow’s scam operators. Local cases, like those of Mustafa Amir and Armaghan, show that the impact of these scams extends beyond foreign victims, contributing to broader societal issues and increasing criminality.
Offering “Crime-as-a-Service”: A New Global Threat
These fraudulent software houses now represent an even greater security threat, offering “crime-as-a-service” packages. They rent out merchant accounts, provide money-laundering tools, and enable financial fraud infrastructure potentially accessible by rogue states, including nations like North Korea. Such networks create substantial risks not only for Pakistan but for global financial stability and international security.
Economic and Legal Ramifications for Pakistan
The unchecked spread of scam enterprises has inflicted substantial damage to Pakistan’s economy and international credibility:
Weakening Currency and Growth of Hawala Networks: Tens of Millions of illicitly earned dollars bypass Pakistan’s banking system through Hawala (informal money transfer systems), starving legitimate sectors of essential foreign currency inflows and aiding widespread money laundering. The boom in hiring by scam software houses also raises the cost of hiring for legitimate firms.
Erosion of International Trust: Global skepticism towards Pakistani IT firms has escalated, imposing stricter compliance requirements and increasing scrutiny on legitimate businesses.
Legal and Reputational Risks: Rising litigation from international victims further burdens Pakistani enterprises, creating costly legal barriers for genuine businesses seeking to expand globally.
FATF Scrutiny and International Banking Restrictions: Persistent fraud operations may trigger intensified monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), potentially leading to stricter regulations on Pakistani financial transactions by countries like the US, UK and UAE.
Despite crackdowns in 2020 and 2021, critics argue that previous efforts did not lead to lasting reforms. Instead of eliminating criminal activities, these measures merely pushed them underground or to countries like Turkey and the Maldives. As a result, the same firms were allowed to rebrand and grow rapidly once again.
Additionally, despite multiple inquiries from Techjuice to the Pakistani Ministry of IT regarding the questions raised in this article, no response or communication was received from the government office. The resurgence of these fraudulent operations, now larger and more financially robust, underscores critical gaps in regulatory oversight and enforcement efficacy. The Pakistani government’s intensified campaign against scam call centers and fraudulent software houses represents a positive step forward, driven by domestic urgency and international pressure. However, sustained success will depend on transparent, consistent, and uncompromising actions to dismantle these criminal networks permanently, restore international trust, and secure the future integrity of Pakistan’s technology industry.
