Man arrested for creating fake Facebook account

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested a man who allegedly posted revealing pictures of a woman on Facebook and tried to blackmail her.

FIA officials said Sheikh Tauqeer Ahmed had allegedly created a fake Facebook account of a woman* and uploaded her compromising pictures. The suspect then blackmailed the woman, extorting Rs200,000 from her.



The woman and her family filed a complaint with the FIA’s cybercrime wing which subsequently launched an inquiry.

The agency, which is the designated agency to probe cybercrimes under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, traced the suspect and arrested him on November 9. He was been booked for cyber-stalking and spoofing under the PECA.

He was initially given into FIA custody for two days on November 10. FIA officials produced Ahmed before a judicial magistrate on Saturday. Sub-inspector Fazal Maabood, who is investigating the case, told the court that they had recovered passwords of the impersonating Facebook account and the e-mail address the suspect had used to create the account. However, officials said that they had yet to recover the money he had extorted.



They requested the court to extend the suspect’s physical remand by six days for investigation and to arrest other accomplices.

The court, however, allowed two-day physical remand custody and directed FIA officials to produce the suspect again on November 14.

*NAME WITHHELD TO PROTECT IDENTItY

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2016.