Several motorists complained of being cheated over time and amid the increasing complaints, the Federal Investigation Agency has unearthed a widespread scam at four fuel stations in Lahore.
The cybercrime wing of FIA raided suspected pumps in the provincial capital on tipoff who conned people while refueling. The racket involved in the sophisticated scam used RFID (radio frequency ID) based technology in at least four pumps in Lahore, home of more than 11 million people.
During the coveted raids, FIA discovered radio frequency chips that these fuel stations used to short-measuring the fuel.
پٹرول پمپس پر RFID سافٹ وئیر Based ریموٹ کنٹرل ڈیوائسز کو مشین میں کہاں اور کیسے انسٹال کر کے عوام کو لوٹا جا رہا ہے؟ دیکھیے
فراڈیوں کے خلاف کاروائیاں جاری ہیں۔ pic.twitter.com/aFWoyZ2782— Asif Iqbal Chaudhry (@Aasifiqbalpak) February 4, 2023
Speaking with a correspondent of a local news channel, FIA Deputy Director Asif Iqbal confirmed the ongoing scam and mentioned arresting some of the workers involved in this fraud.
He revealed that these con artists manage to control petrol quantity as it supplies either 800ml, 850ml, or 900ml of fuel while charging for a litre.
He mentioned that several pumps earlier escaped the raids by remotely switching the devices off. It was learned that scammers managed to deceive FIA officials by shutting down the devices during several raids.
پٹرول پمپس پر ٹیکنالوجی کے زریعےعوام کو لوٹنے کا جدید طریقہ جو پہلےکبھی سنا نہ دیکھا 🤛 pic.twitter.com/az2ALYtM7S
— Asif Iqbal Chaudhry (@Aasifiqbalpak) February 1, 2023
Several pumps are on the radar and covert operations will be in the coming days, he added, saying they seized devices for forensics to dissect the scam.
The fuel scam raised eyebrows as distressed people of the cash-strapped country are paying Rs249 per litre amid the worst economic crisis.
