ISLAMABAD: As the massive increase in online theft cases continued, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday busted a gang of fake online bankers who fraudulently deprived citizens of their money.

According to a spokesman for the FIA, its Cyber Crimes Circle Rawalpindi arrested six youngsters who were allegedly looting citizens by using latest technology and modern gadgets.

The suspects - Mohammad Farooq, Umar Usman, Mohammad Noman, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Aslam and Mohammad Adnan - were pretending to be bank officials and grabbed money from the account holders of commercial banks.

One of the victims had lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crimes Circle Rawalpindi regarding online theft of Rs1.95 million from his bank accounts.

Consumers have already been warned by PTA to examine cameras, loose parts of ATM before using their credit or debit cards

He stated the suspects obtained his personal information and then accessed his bank accounts and got transferred the amount.

The FIA recovered seven mobile phones from the custody of the suspects.

A First Information Report (FIR) against all the six suspects has been registered and further investigation is in progress, the spokesman of the FIA said.

According to an official of the FIA, such gangs made calls from the official numbers of commercial banks and asked some questions about the ATM cards.

Sometimes, they pretend to be officials of law enforcement agencies to seek details of the bank accounts.

He said the investigation agency could not take up all these complaints due to paucity of resources.

A citizen, Mohammad Abdullah, said the investigation agency takes action on the complaints of well-connected people.

He said he lodged an online complaint on FIA’s website regarding cyber fraud with him a number of times but to no avail.

Earlier this year, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had warned that organised groups can misuse personal information for online financial scams as well as terror or criminal activities.

The ‘Online Safety Guide’ issued by PTA highlights several methods used by criminals for financial scams, including skimming money from accounts or making unauthorised purchases.

As online banking and ATM usage increased, the most common financial crime is ‘skimming’ i.e. theft from accounts using devices installed at ATMs that can store details of transactions.

The PTA has warned consumers to examine all cameras, loose parts of ATM or any contraption that can be used to record their PIN before using their credit or debit cards.

“Regularly review copies of bank and card statements for suspicious activity,” the new PTA guidelines said.

The guidelines also stated that personal information of individuals held their digital and financial identity and ‘identity theft’ i.e. using someone else’s personal information, including financial details without permission, is a serious concern.

The PTA said those involved in identity theft steal the names, addresses, CNIC and credit card or bank account details and used them not only for financial scams but also for various fraudulent, terror-related or criminal activities.

The guideline highlighted that ‘online identity theft’ occurs when users fall for tactics like opening unsolicited and malicious email attachments, downloading malware onto their computers or smartphones, connecting to insecure wireless networks or sharing their passwords with other people.

Among the common tactics used by criminals is the use of ‘malware’ or ‘malicious software’ that included viruses and spyware which can infiltrate and infect computer systems.

“To trap users, criminals create fake websites resembling legitimate websites, compel users with desirable downloads and ad links that will download malware - especially on computers that do not have adequate security software.”

This malware may redirect users to unwanted malicious websites through pop-ups.

Another tactic adopted by the criminals is the use of ‘ransomware’, which is a type of malware that can access a victim’s files, lock and encrypt them and then issues a warning to the victim that a ransom must be paid through online payment methods to get those files back.

Such attacks are usually carried out against large companies and institutions.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2023