FIA Arrests 415 Fraudsters For Involvement In Financial Frauds

The Cyber Crime Wing (CCW) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has received 21,259 complaints of financial fraud during the current year. FIA also arrested 415 fraudsters for involvement in these frauds. According to the data, among the total complaints, 3,894 were converted into regular inquiries. A total of 352 cases were registered.

FIA Arrests 415 Fraudsters For Involvement In Financial Frauds

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As a quick comparison, in 2021, the CCW registered 3,894 inquiries and 652 cases. However, 703 accused were arrested. According to the official, criminals usually used different modus operandi to attract innocent people on social media networks into various scams. Moreover, the fraudsters use mobile SIMs which are activated fraudulently by using different techniques like silicon thumb impression.

It was the mandate of the PTA to check and monitor illegal biometric verification of SIMs under section 17 of PECA-2016 (unauthorized issuance of SIM cards). The officials reveal that such offences were dealt with under section 13 (Electronic Forgery) section 14 (Electronic Fraud), section 16 (Unauthorized Use of Identity Information) and section 17 (Issues of Illegal SIMs) of PECA-2016.

It is worth mentioning here that CCW had taken important steps to prevent such crimes. Crackdowns were conducted against the sellers and buyers of silicon thumbs.

Additionally, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will soon introduce a live finger detector (LFD) system to address this loophole. Similarly, the database of IMEIs has been maintained to identify and report to PTA for permanently blocking the mobile phone.

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