LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) claimed to have arrested 14 suspects in separate raids in a crackdown on networks involved in online financial fraud.

As per the NCCIA, in the raids conducted in Lahore, four suspects, identified as Amir, Ashfaq, Qamar and Amir Karim, were arrested.

Explaining their modus operandi, the agency says the suspects would pose as representatives of marriage bureaus and close friends in fraudulent phone calls to cheat the victims into transferring money into their accounts.

They collectively deprived the victims of millions of rupees through fraudulent means.

In Multan, the NCCIA arrested 10 suspects, identified as Asghar, Amir Shehzad, Kamran, Rizwan Talib, Saqib Ali, Kamran Talib, Iftikhar Manzoor, Adnan, Sultan and Naeem.

According to the agency, the suspects would use social media and WhatsApp platforms to impersonate officials of Customs, police, banks and other government institutions.

They defrauded citizens on various pretexts, including fake prizes, gifts, donations, bank verification and parcel clearance.

The NCCIA says the suspects’ mobile phones, SIMs, fake WhatsApp accounts, social media accounts and other digital evidence have been recovered.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2026