Two Members of National Assembly fell victim to distinct financial scams involving unauthorized bank account access and fraudulent duplicate SIM cards, suffering losses totaling millions of rupees.
Farhan Chishti, an MQM MNA, reported a loss of Rs. 1.5 million when a scammer obtained a duplicate SIM for his mobile connection without authorization. After his primary SIM went dead, the criminal used the phone number to set up online banking and move funds.
In a different occurrence, MNA Shaharyar Mahar was defrauded of Rs. 2 million. Meanwhile, Sunny Kumar, a businessman based in Karachi, suffered a loss of Rs. 8.5 million after a fake SIM card was generated using his identity.
The scheme targeting Kumar involved a bank staff member who looked up client files and allegedly passed data to accomplices. Probe findings also pointed to attempts by criminals to secure customer records from personnel at NADRA and other financial institutions.
Authorities at the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority imposed a penalty of Rs. 77.8 million on a telecommunications company for each of the two incidents.
Probers believe lawbreakers might be acquiring fingerprints through security breaches or exploiting biometric details gathered during ordinary verification processes.
Measures taken against the banks involved consisted reportedly of directives requiring them to refund the victims.
