FIA unearths fake biometric machines

Fraud carried out through SIMs issued on basis of thumbprints on paper

LAHORE:

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested members of a group involved in fraudulently issuing mobile phone SIMs by using fake biometric verification machines. It is suspected that the SIMs were used in frauds of a large amount.

The machines used by the suspects verify the thumbprints taken on paper or other surfaces. The standard equipment has heat pulse sensors and prints are captured from the thumb placed on the scanner to confirm the presence of the applicant for the verification.

The revelation came after the FIA Cyber Crime Wing nabbed a group of people who were fraudulently taking fingerprints of people on paper and using them for issuing SIMs. The suspects deliberately use substandard biometric machines that do not verify the heat pulse.

The arrested suspects reportedly indicated during interrogation that more than 200,000 SIMs of various cellular networks had been issued through fake verification across Punjab.

It was also revealed during the FIA investigation that in order to meet the targets of various mobile phone companies, fingerprints of poor widows and illiterate people were taken after giving then flour, sugar, ghee and other food items. The prints were used for illegal issuance of SIMs.

Most of the suspects are employees of various mobile phone service franchisees or staff members fired on charges of fraud.

They were arrested in Lahore, Sargodha and Faisalabad and dozens of fake biometric machines and thousands of SIMs were seized from them.

The SIMs issued illegally are used in most of the frauds done through the social media. The FIA Cyber Wing Lahore is reportedly dealing with hundreds of cases of sexual harassment and blackmailing that are pending because when the SIMs were verified, it turned out that they had been issued using the fake biometric machines. This has made it difficult for the FIA to identify the culprits.

According to sources, the FIA arrested most of the people involved in such cases through mobile phone location or by calling them to a location with the help of the complainants.

The sources revealed that there was no integrated system for issuing SIMs. In addition, none of the agencies concerned have the data regarding where the biometric machines came from and how many had arrived in the country. They said a system was also needed to ascertain whether a biometric verification machine was counterfeit or had been tampered with.

The scam was unearthed when the FIA apprehended the suspects and conducted a forensic examination of a biometric machine after interrogating them. The investigators estimate that billions of rupees might have been swindled with the help of the machines.

The investigation agency is also making efforts to apprehend the persons who had tampered with the machines or their software.

FIA officials have prepared a detailed report on the case and sent it to the director general FIA, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and the home affairs ministry.

When contacted, FIA Cyber Wing Director Abdur Rabb Chaudhry said work was under way to take legal action against the suspects, while a crackdown on sale and purchase of illegal SIMs was continuing across the country.

He said more than 75% frauds were currently being carried out through illegal SIMs and curbing them could help drastically reduce the number of such cases. The companies and other entities have also been advised to improve their systems to facilitate action against fraudsters.

The official said it was often found out during investigations that a SIM was being used by someone other than the one to whom it had been issued. He said the support of all related institutions was needed to curb such crimes.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2021.