ISLAMABAD — The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on Saturday warned that loopholes in the existing system are being exploited by illegal call centres, online betting operators and international fraud networks to launder money and trap victims. Addressing a press conference, NCCIA (Islamabad/Rawalpindi) Additional Director Muhammad Shoaib Khan said fake companies were being registered with weak verification, after which bank accounts opened in their names were integrated with loan apps, betting and gaming portals to receive and transfer illicit funds.
Therefore, he called for stricter rules on company registration and bank account verification. The press conference was primarily called to warn educated youths against becoming involved in cybercrime by joining illegal call centres in pursuit of lucrative salaries, urging those seeking jobs with call centres to ask their employers where they are registered and appealing to parents to check whether their children were working at an illegal call centre carrying out scams, fraud or other illicit activities. “Ask them what documents the company has, what registration it operates under, which company they work for, which company is providing the loans, where the money is coming from and who is putting money into these applications,” Khan said.
Acknowledging that young people and university students were engaging in such jobs because the salaries were higher than average, he noted that they risked ending up becoming part of the entire trap and operation. “If your son or daughter is arrested in such an operation, the FIR (first information report) becomes part of their record. Tomorrow, when they need a character certificate or apply for a government job, that record can affect them,” the NCCIA officer warned.