LAHORE, Oct 10 (APP):The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), Lahore Zone, has arrested a bank operations manager for allegedly obtaining citizens’ sensitive identity records through the NADRA Verisys system and selling the data to individuals involved in online fraud.
NCCIA Lahore Zone Additional Director Atif Ameer told media on Saturday that according to preliminary investigations, the suspect allegedly used his authorized access to the verification system to obtain citizens’ personal records and supplied them to online fraudsters in exchange for a few hundred rupees per record.
He said the suspect, identified as Irfan Ashraf, was serving as an operations manager at a bank branch in Arifwala.
Investigations revealed that the suspect had started the activity after coming across a Facebook advertisement for a verification officer’s job. He subsequently began obtaining citizens’ identity information and providing it to individuals allegedly involved in online fraud.
The suspect had not met the alleged recipients of the data in person and was paid through JazzCash, investigators found. The payments were reportedly routed through a JazzCash account registered in the name of an elderly person. The account holder’s role, along with that of the individuals making the payments, is being investigated.
Preliminary findings suggest that the suspect primarily obtained data belonging to elderly and deceased citizens and supplied the information to online fraudsters.
The additional director said a technical examination of his mobile phone revealed WhatsApp chats containing thousands of Verisys records relating to Pakistani citizens.
The NCCIA was investigating who received the citizens’ data and how the information was allegedly being used to facilitate online fraud, he said, adding that further inquiries were also under way to trace the payments, examine the JazzCash account and identify other individuals involved in the suspected network.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
