Another cybercriminal arrested for extorting citizens

Accused ran a mobile repair shop and would steal private data from his patrons

LAHORE:  

The Anti-Cyber Crime Cell of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Lahore arrested another man for blackmailing and harassing citizens on Monday.

Reportedly, Ali Akbar ran a mobile repair shop and would steal the private data from mobile phones belonging to his patrons. After stealing the data, he would blackmail the victims and would extort money from them.

Many victims registered complaints with FIA which launched an investigation. Officials raided Ali’s shop and took him into custody. They also seized his laptop and his mobile phone and recovered the data of the victims. FIA stated that they were investigating the matter further.

Such cases are regularly being reported. A few days ago, FIA arrested a suspect, deported from Greece, for attempting to force a woman into marriage through blackmailing.

A victim, M*, had registered a complaint with the cell. She had befriended a person named Naseer Shah online. After some time, he proposed to her but she refused. “Upon rejection, he tampered with my pictures and started blackmailing me,” she alleged.

FIA launched an investigation into the matter. It was revealed that the suspect was returning to Pakistan and was arrested by the cell the moment he set foot in the country. During investigations, he confessed to extorting Rs0.3 million from M*.

“Later, she turned down my marriage proposal,” the investigators quoted him as saying. He also stated that he had appeared before Greek authorities for deportation. He told investigators that he had illegally travelled to Greek a year ago. The cell also recovered questionable pictures and videos from his custody and recorded his statement.

*Name withheld to protect identity