ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan have arrested 149 individuals, including 71 foreigners, in a major raid on a scam call centre operating in Faisalabad.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency confirmed that 48 of those detained were Chinese nationals, alongside citizens from Nigeria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and Myanmar.
The raid followed a tip-off about the fraudulent network, which allegedly deceived victims through Ponzi schemes and fake investment opportunities.
“Through this fraudulent network, the public was being deceived and vast sums of money were being illegally collected,“ the agency stated.
Authorities uncovered the operation at the residence of Tasheen Awan, former head of Faisalabad’s power grid, though Awan himself was not arrested. Among those detained were 78 Pakistanis and 18 women.
A police report revealed that victims were initially lured with small returns on investments before being pressured to deposit larger sums.
“The charged individuals ran WhatsApp groups where they lured ordinary people by assigning small investment tasks like subscribing to different TikTok and YouTube channels,“ the report stated.
“Later, they shifted them to Telegram links for further online tasks requiring larger investments.”
The crackdown highlights Pakistan’s efforts to combat cybercrime and financial fraud, particularly schemes targeting unsuspecting individuals through social media platforms. - AFP
