ISLAMABAD:
On Friday, the FIA’s Cybercrime Wing announced the arrest of nine people they say were blackmailing victims via predatory online loan apps.
A representative for the organization said that 19 further people were charged after raids were conducted in the Saidpur Road area.
Inspector Badar Munir locked down many offices in the business complex during the raid.
The suspects, the document claims, were instructed to place between 100 and 150 calls every day to app users and their friends and families.
Family: Man committed suicide after being harassed by predatory lending app
The allegation went on to say that within these offices were specialised “torture call” units.
Each division had its own calling responsibilities. There were also “DS-0,” “DS-1,” “DS-2,” and “DS-3” parts, the statement said.
It further claimed that citizens’ private information was acquired through the lending applications in question and then utilised to harass those individuals.
During the raid, the FIA was able to recover numerous papers, PCs, laptops, and SIM cards.
The suspects have been apprehended, the investigation has begun, and raids are still being performed to apprehend further individuals, according to the investigating agency.
However, a resident in Karachi who had been blackmailed through online lending apps reported the incident to FIA Cybercrime Karachi. But as of yet, nothing has been done.
Loan application office raided by FIA over ‘debt-driven suicide’
Indebted man takes his own life
Muhammad Masood, 42, committed suicide earlier this week after being pressured and harassed by staff of the app into returning the borrowed money with exorbitant interest, prompting the FIA to launch an investigation into the matter.
He borrowed Rs13,000 initially, but due to missed payments and skyrocketing interest, he now owed almost Rs700,000 to two different lenders.
In his final message, Muhammad Masood told how app staff had blackmailed him and threatened to reveal his personal information.
He wrote that the online loan app’s staff had harassed and coerced him into paying the interest and principal quickly.
The three-man FIA squad confiscated the victim’s phone and checked his email, where they found correspondence with the online lender. The widow and brother of the deceased were also interviewed and their remarks were recorded.
