NCCIA, Elçilik Yetkililerini Taklit Ederek Vize Dolandırıcılığı Yapan Çeteyi Çökertti

NCCIA busts embassy impersonation gang, arrests 12 members in Punjab

LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has unearthed an international network involved in impersonating foreign embassies’ officials to defraud citizens seeking visas and immigration services, arresting its 12 members. “We have busted an international cyber fraud network that had been impersonating foreign embassies’ officials, including those in Italy, Germany, Sweden, Oman and Saudi Arabia, for the last several years to defraud visa and immigration applicants of millions of rupees,” NCCIA Punjab Director Muhammad Ali Wasim said on Tuesday. Flanked by NCCIA Additional Director Hassam Bin Iqbal, Mr Wasim told a press conference that 12 members of this gang had been arrested. The arrests were made during a raid on a fake call centre operating from Bahria Town Phase IV in Rawalpindi, he said, describing the operation as one of its most significant crackdowns on organised cross-border cybercrime. “The suspects would create fake Google business profiles, bogus websites and forge official documents to impersonate staff of foreign diplomatic missions. The gang manipulated online search results so that victims seeking embassy contact details were redirected to fraudulent phone numbers controlled by the suspects,” the director said. Similarly, he said the suspects employed advanced call-forwarding and caller ID spoofing technologies to route official embassy telephone numbers to their own lines. Fraudsters pose as embassy officials to swindle visa seekers “Posing as embassy officials, they would contact victims through phone calls and WhatsApp, demanding hefty payments for visa appointments, immigration processing, document verification and other purported consular services.” The NCCIA Punjab chief further said the network also used intimidation tactics to gain the confidence of victims. “Members of the gang appeared in video calls wearing Singapore Police uniforms and falsely claimed to be law enforcement officials. The group’s mastermind had also recruited individuals fluent in Arabic, including the Saudi dialect, and other foreign languages to strengthen the deception by posing as embassy staff and government representatives,” he said. According to him, the network had been active since 2019 and expanded its operations to Oman and Saudi Arabia. “Efforts are underway to trace the group’s financial transactions, identify additional victims, arrest absconding suspects and investigate its international links,” Wasim said. The operation was carried out by the NCCIA’s Gujranwala Circle. The NCCIA had seized 21 mobile phones, a car, a Singapore Police uniform, forged appointment letters, phishing emails, fake Google business profiles, PTCL records, multiple gmail accounts and other digital evidence, all of which have been sent for forensic examination. Wasim said the agency would continue pursuing cybercrime networks targeting the public and exploiting the names of government institutions and foreign diplomatic missions. “There is no place for those who undermine public trust or attempt to use the country’s territory for international cyber fraud,” he added. Separately, the NCCIA arrested two alleged key members of an international cyber fraud network accused of operating a sophisticated phishing infrastructure used to steal banking credentials and other sensitive data from victims in Pakistan and abroad. It said the suspects had developed and operated Tycoon2FA, a phishing platform comprising more than 96,000 fake applications, accounts and malicious links used by cybercriminals in Pakistan, North and South America, Central Asia and Europe. According to the NCCIA, the suspects used counterfeit banking websites and webpages mimicking government institutions and private companies to obtain victims’ usernames, passwords, one-time passwords (OTPs) and banking details through phishing links sent via email, SMS and WhatsApp. The agency said coordinated raids in Islamabad, Faisalabad and Sialkot led to the seizure of computers, laptops, servers, mobile phones and digital storage devices from suspects. It said proceeds of the alleged fraud had been invested in high-value properties in Islamabad, adding that legal proceedings had been initiated to confiscate the assets. According to the NCCIA, four other suspects have fled abroad and the process of obtaining Interpol Red Notices for their arrest is underway. Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2026