Gang Selling Officers' Data Abroad Arrested in Rawalpindi

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has arrested a gang in Rawalpindi that was selling sensitive data of senior Pakistani officers and bureaucrats to buyers abroad, Express News reported. The disclosure was made during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication, chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan.

An additional director of the NCCIA told the committee that the gang, which sold data of high-ranking officers and officials of important institutions for money, had been caught recently in Rawalpindi. A separate group selling sensitive data of bureaucrats and personalities from high-level institutions was also arrested, the official said.

The committee also reviewed social media content deemed blasphemous or inappropriate, a Rs172 billion fraud allegedly run through call centres, and financial fraud using fake SIM cards. Senator Afnanullah said the committee had received evidence related to blasphemy and that highly inappropriate content was being produced on TikTok live. The NCCIA official said the agency asks the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in writing to act on such content.

The PTA chairman said TikTok live is officially banned in Pakistan, but the ban can be bypassed with virtual private networks. Senator Kamran Murtaza said such material was being spread deliberately in society. The PTA chairman added that some countries have banned social media use for children under 16, and that he had met Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on setting an age limit for children's social media use. Around 500 social media complaints are received daily in Pakistan, he said. Committee members stressed stricter internet controls for those under 16.

The committee recommended that the PTA build a dedicated messaging "super app" for government officers and directed the authority to begin work on it.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) briefed the committee on a call centre fraud worth Rs172 billion. Companies were registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan to carry out the fraud, and both Chinese and Pakistani nationals were involved. Money was moved abroad through cryptocurrency, NCCIA officials said. Illegal call centres in Pakistan involve Chinese, Vietnamese, Myanmar and other foreign nationals, but these centres primarily defraud foreigners, not Pakistanis, the officials said. Pakistani employees work at the centres, but command and majority shares are held by foreigners. Some victims have been paid back after recoveries.

The officials said fake SIMs are used in local financial fraud, often registered in the names of elderly women unaware of the matter. A cooling period on SIM issuance has been imposed to curb fraud, but Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima said the cooling period is affecting digital transactions.

On Jazz overcharging, the PTA chairman said the regulator reviews every mobile package and has brought tariff regulations. A sub-committee headed by Senator Afnanullah was formed on the Jazz issue.