ISLAMABAD: As online scams are increasing day by day, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has cautioned citizens about job offers online.
According to PTA, cybercriminals use fake job listings to rob citizens of their information or money.
Social media these days is flooded with job offers online, full-time or part-time, that entice thousands of individuals with their high pay, hourly wages, and other enticing propositions.
The PTA informed citizens that fraudsters are creating false job advertisements online to deceive their money and information. They can present themselves as companies or conduct surveys to obtain your photos and location, the PTA further stated.
The nation’s telecommunications authority has cautioned people to ensure they check carefully for online jobs before applying for them, since an individual’s safety comes first before their financial gain.
Free SIM cards were being sold by street vendors to people in all the busy locations of the big cities, luring passers-by with unlimited free Internet and minutes.
If something is free, then you are the product. They get duped with evil tricks in such offers, as fingerprints, thumbprints, and other personal biometric data are captured.
Recent incidents state that SIM cards are usually abused for identity theft, financial fraud, and similar criminal purposes. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) released a stern warning regarding an unsafe, fast-evolving scam that places citizens’ biometric information at significant risk.
The scammers are making off with fingerprints, thumb impressions, and other sensitive details by luring the victims—women and elderly people particularly—through promises of free SIM cards or phony financial assistance programs.
The PTA cautioned that SIMs procured via this platform are normally exploited in serious criminal activities such as identity theft and massive financial fraud.
Officials underscored that handing over a registered SIM card in your name to another is a criminal activity punishable under the law. Citizens are requested to be careful and not share personal or biometric details with unauthenticated sources.
One Pakistani citizen lost Rs 85 recently after a fraudster illegally cloned his mobile SIM and withdrew money from Hyderabad. The cloned SIM facilitated the fraudster’s unauthorized access to his bank account by enabling him to conduct several fraudulent transactions.
The incident exposed serious issues with respect to the security of mobile SIM registrations and the rising danger of digital identity theft in Pakistan.
Experts warn that such scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, targeting innocent people by exploiting loopholes in telecommunication authentication procedures.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has launched an investigation into the matter. In order to find the culprits and trace the flow of money, authorities have asked for complete details of accounts and transactions from both the concerned bank and telecom company.
