‘Don’t share personal info over phone’

Cyber Crime Cell warns provision of such confidential information can cause serious financial loss

LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency's Cyber Crime Cell has issued a threat alert to citizens to beware from sharing personal information to anyone on phone calls.

According to the letter issued on Thursday, it has been observed that fake telephone calls are being made by the fraudsters impersonating themselves as Pakistan armed officials and banking helpline representative officers thus scamming the general public.

The impersonators try to seek personal details like CNIC and bank accounts on the pretext of data verifications and prize schemes.

Therefore, citizens are advised not to respond or take any calls or messages from unknown numbers claiming to be representatives of Pakistan army or bank officials and also not to provide any personal details, bank account information to fraudsters as the provision of such confidential information could cause serious financial loss, the warning message concluded.



Earlier, a government department had warned public of such scam. In January this year, DG ISPR had asked public not to share any personal and bank account information to anyone over the phone even someone impersonating army officer on the pretext of census verification.

FIA arrests nine men

Meanwhile, FIA Faisalabad on the information of fraudulent withdrawal of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) funds arrested nine accused persons during a raid on Thursday.

FIA officer said that Telenor employees in connivance with the bank officials and BISP employees are found involved in the withdrawal of BISP funds allocated for deserving women via biometric tabs on the pretext of biometric verification.

This is the second raid by FIA Faisalabad regarding BISP funds fraud during the last one week.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2018.