Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Amin-ul-Haque has said that the government has initiated a crackdown against illegal loan providers to combat with the fraudsters.
In a statement issued here on Monday, he said that Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Maj-Gen (retd) Hafeezur Rehman has issued directives to take swift action on the illegal loan applications.
Amin-ul-Haq said that under the orders issued, 43 loan applications had already been blocked. The targeted companies, operating within the lending industry, were registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he added.
Highlighting the severity of the issue, he shed light on the involvement of mafia groups operating through social media platforms, particularly Facebook. These unscrupulous entities have resorted to blackmailing innocent individuals, exploiting their financial vulnerabilities.
Meanwhile, Federal Investigation Agency has moved to freeze accounts of the online loan app after the alleged blackmailing of the customers which led to the suicide of a Rawalpindi citizen, Muhammad Masood.
After expanding the probe’s scope, FIA made records of four sealed offices of the loan app as part of the ongoing investigation into Muhammad Masood’s suicide case.
In another development today, the initial probe report regarding the loan app was submitted to the interior ministry. The DG FIA issued directives to all anti-cybercrime units to launch crackdown on unregistered loan apps across the country.
It was learnt that over 74 inquiries and three cases were lodged across the country, whereas, 17 suspects were arrested and 30 accounts were blocked.
The authorities sealed five online loan companies over their alleged involvement in illegal activities. To raise awareness and safeguard the public, a comprehensive public awareness campaign has been launched.
The citizens are urged to report any suspicious loan applications or incidents involving the loan mafia groups to the PTA, the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cybercrime wing, or their local police stations.
The collaborative efforts of various law enforcement agencies aimed to address the increasing cybercrime wave in the country.
