Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) has filed a complaint with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) following a phishing scheme in which unknown individuals cloned the authority’s official website and sent fraudulent alerts to citizens, urging them to pay fines for pending e-challans. In addition, PSCA reached out to Punjab Police to trace the mobile numbers used by the suspects to circulate the fake website and its link, which misled recipients into believing that they needed to settle traffic fines immediately.
PSCA took swift action after the fraudulent messages, containing fake pending e-challans, were sent to residents across Punjab. The authority confirmed that these alerts were illegitimate and warned citizens that the scam was designed to deceive them for financial gain. PSCA Managing Director Ahsan Younas explained to Dawn that scammers often exploit the internet to carry out online fraud, employing tactics to pressure individuals into transferring money or sharing personal data. A preliminary investigation revealed that one of the alerts, which included a voice note, had originated from a man based in Karachi.
Following the discovery, PSCA launched an extensive awareness campaign across social media platforms to alert citizens about the phishing scheme. The authority emphasized that official e-challan notifications are only sent from the verified number 8070 and urged the public to confirm links directly via official channels before taking any action. Officials noted that one of the ways citizens could identify fraudulent messages was the use of the word “urgent,” which is never included in official PSCA communications. Additionally, the domain name of the fake website differed from PSCA’s legitimate website, gop.pk.
Chief Operating Officer Mustansar Feroz highlighted that further investigation revealed the mobile number used by the scammer was registered under a woman’s name who had no involvement in the fraud. The suspects reportedly obtained mobile numbers, SIM cards, and CNIC information from vendors, raising concerns about the security of personal data in circulation. The request submitted to NCCIA also included legal action against the perpetrators for causing reputational damage to PSCA. Authorities continue to advise citizens to exercise caution and verify all e-challan links directly through official PSCA numbers to avoid falling victim to online scams.
This incident underscores growing concerns about online fraud targeting digital services in Pakistan and the need for enhanced public awareness regarding phishing schemes and the verification of official government communications.
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