Loopholes fuel crime wave as illegal SIMs drive banking fraud, NA panel told

ISLAMABAD: Loopholes in the system continue to fuel a crime wave, with illegally issued SIMs being used in a large number of fraudulent calls and fake banking messages.

This was the grim picture presented to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control on Thursday, as regulators acknowledged that scammers remain active despite the blocking of 18.2 million illegal SIMs over the past two and a half years and fines imposed on telecom companies.

The committee was told that criminals were exploiting stolen fingerprints and “rented” bank accounts to carry out financial fraud, highlighting persistent gaps in the system despite ongoing efforts to curb the misuse of SIMs and banking channels.

The meeting, chaired by Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, was attended by Minister of State Talal Chaudhry and lawmakers, including Anjum Aqeel Khan, Abdul Qadir Patel and Khawaja Izharul Hassan, among others.

Senior officers from the interior and law departments, the Capital Development Authority (CDA), National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Punjab Board of Revenue were also present.

NCCIA Director Irfanullah Khan told the panel that gaps in the current system were fuelling the surge in crime. Citing a recent raid in Multan, he said the agency had seized 195 active SIMs and 81 ATM cards that were being used by scammers.

“They are exploiting gaps to carry out their activities,” he explained.

PTA Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeezur Rehman admitted that the biometric system designed to secure SIM issuance was being bypassed. Fraudsters are now stealing fingerprint data from airports, driving licence centres, passport offices and possibly even Nadra itself.

In joint operations with the NCCIA, the PTA has raided 110 facilities, blocked 29,000 illegal SIMs and arrested 171 suspects. Data belonging to 600,000 individuals was also recovered.

State Minister Chaudhry observed that biometric verification had become “outdated” and urged a shift towards facial and iris recognition. He also called on telecom companies to upgrade their security features in coordination with the PTA.

He also flagged a new trend in which bank accounts were being rented out for laundering proceeds from scams.

Nawaz directed Interior Secretary Ahmad Raza Sarwar to urgently convene all stakeholders — including the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), PTA, NCCIA and telecom operators — to devise a new plan to curb the supply of illegal SIMs used for online financial fraud.

The panel received a detailed briefing from the NCCIA, PTA, cellular mobile operators and representatives of the banking sector on fraudulent calls, illegal SIM issuance, misuse of biometric data and financial scams.

It also discussed emerging fraud methods, including unauthorised withdrawals and the use of rented or “mule” bank accounts.

Authorities were instructed to formulate practical legislative, regulatory and technical measures to strengthen Pakistan’s cybersecurity framework. They were also asked to raise public awareness about the unauthorised use of foreign SIMs and monitor social media to prevent their illegal promotion.

MNA Hassan suggested that citizens should receive an automatic SMS alert if more than one SIM was issued against their CNIC.

The PTA chief proposed that SIMs should be issued only through Nadra’s PAK ID system, while a SBP official recommended restricting each SIM to a single IMEI number.

In other business, the committee considered the ‘Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2026’ and recommended that it be passed by the National Assembly. PPP members Rafiullah and Patel recorded dissenting notes.

On law and order, Islamabad Police briefed the committee on the Safe City Project and narcotics. The panel called for anti-narcotics awareness campaigns in schools and universities, particularly against ice and other synthetic drugs, and directed that all Safe City cameras be made fully functional.

Last February, the FIA stated that illegal international SIMs, particularly those from the United Kingdom, are being widely used in Pakistan for serious crimes, including child pornography, kidnapping for ransom and online financial fraud.

Addressing a press conference, Additional Director General of the FIA Cybercrime Wing Waqaruddin Syed said that the cybercrime wing launched, for the first time, a crackdown on the unauthorised trade of illegal SIMs and as many as 44 suspects were arrested from Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Peshawar, Sukkur and Abbottabad.

He said that a total of 8,363 international SIMs from the UK were recovered, adding that 21 cases were registered nationwide.