ISLAMABAD – A major cyber-fraud crackdown in Islamabad exposed network of illegal call centres accused of using online dating applications, fake investment opportunities and phony schemes to target victims in Pakistan and abroad.
National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) raided three suspected illegal call centres in Islamabad’s E-11 and G-10 sectors, detaining 212 Pakistani and Chinese men and women in an operation carried out over the 24 hours leading up to September 22. Authorities recovered a massive haul of digital equipment, including 306 mobile phones, 383 computers and CPUs, and 299 monitors and laptops. The devices have been sent for forensic examination.
The investigation revealed fraud model in which personal conversations were reportedly used as the gateway to financial deception. According to case details reported after the raids, potential victims were approached through online dating applications, drawn into regular conversations and gradually encouraged to trust the people contacting them. Once that relationship was established, victims were allegedly steered towards online “tasks” and purported investment platforms promising financial returns.
No specific dating app has been publicly identified in the official statements or reports reviewed. Authorities and news organisations have instead referred generally to dating applications, dating schemes and love/dating scams.
Two of the locations identified in court and other reporting were the FFK Lodhi Call Center in G-10 Markaz and another facility on Street No. 40 near the Passport Office in G-10/4.
According to the case material, at least one G-10 facility allegedly operated under the cover of a legitimate information-technology business while being used for unlawful cyber activities. A large number of women were reportedly among those found working at the premises.
The alleged operation was not confined to dating-related fraud. Investigators have also linked the centres to loan-recovery scams, online trading and investment fraud, Google-related scams, fake social-media profiles and tasking fraud. The NCCIA said its initial investigation indicated that the network had alleged links to India and Brazil and was targeting people in different countries.
In tasking scams, victims can initially be offered apparently simple online jobs or activities with promises of commissions before being pressured to deposit their own money. In the alleged dating-related model under investigation, trust built through personal communication was reportedly used before victims were introduced to financial schemes.
The operation has also produced differing figures at different stages of the investigation. The initial NCCIA account put the number of people detained at 212, including Pakistani and Chinese nationals. An early official account cited seven Chinese nationals among those detained. Two separate FIRs. No. 150/2026 and 151/2026, registered on September 22, subsequently named 206 suspects, including 12 foreign nationals, primarily Chinese, according to court reporting.
The breakdown cited in the proceedings was:
- G-10/4: 100 accused — 95 Pakistanis and 5 Chinese nationals.
- FFK Lodhi Call Center: 106 accused — 94 Pakistanis and 12 Chinese nationals.
The discrepancy appears to reflect the difference between the broader number of people initially taken into custody during the raids and the suspects subsequently booked in the two principal cases. The sheer number of detainees was such that the raided premises were temporarily declared a sub-jail for the legal proceedings.
The dramatic raid was followed by a significant development in court. During proceedings on September 22–23 before a judicial magistrate of the Special Court under PECA, Islamabad-West, the court granted six days of physical remand to 27 accused, while 179 others were discharged.
The court reportedly questioned the immediate evidentiary basis against many of those detained. Proceedings noted that no victims or prior complaints had been identified before the raids, while investigators had not, at that stage, produced sufficient immediate incriminating material connecting many of the detainees to the alleged offences.
The 27 suspects granted physical remand are due to be produced before the court again on September 28. The seized equipment could prove central to the next phase of the investigation.
NCCIA recovered 306 mobile phones, 383 computers/CPUs and 299 monitors and laptops, in addition to other digital material. The equipment has been forwarded for forensic analysis, with investigators examining communications, data, financial links and other evidence that could help establish the structure and reach of the alleged network.
Authorities are also investigating the suspected international connections of the operation. Initial findings reportedly pointed towards links with India and Brazil, while the presence of Chinese nationals has added an international dimension to the case. The NCCIA has said further investigation is required to determine the network’s operations, financial connections and the individual roles of those involved.
The suspects named in the cases face charges under Section 14 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016, along with Sections 419, 420, 34 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The allegations include a range of suspected cyber and financial offences, but the investigation remains ongoing and the allegations have yet to be established against individual accused persons in court.
For now, several critical questions remain unanswered as How many people were actually defrauded? How much money was allegedly taken? Who operated the network? And how far did its international connections extend?
Islamabad raids revealed the alleged mechanics of a sophisticated operation in which online conversations, fake tasks and investment promises were reportedly combined into a wider fraud network, but the full scale of the operation will depend on what investigators uncover from the digital evidence and the continuing court proceedings.
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