Islamabad: The phone call may look ordinary. The message may appear to come from a bank. A WhatsApp account may belong to someone familiar. But across Pakistan, such everyday digital interactions are increasingly becoming entry points for fraud.
More than 227000 Pakistanis reported cyber fraud over the past three years, according to documents seen by The Express Tribune. The reported victims collectively lost Rs8.32 billion.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency received 83080 complaints in 2024, followed by 76646 in 2025 and 68031 in the subsequent year. The figures show that cyber fraud remains widespread despite a decline in reported complaints over the period.
The victims include members of parliament. The documents list several serving and former lawmakers among those who reported being defrauded, with six named parliamentarians alone losing a combined Rs2.749 million. The NCCIA recovered more than Rs918000 in three of those cases.
The methods are often familiar. NCCIA sources cited in the report said many cases involve hacked WhatsApp accounts or callers impersonating representatives of banks and other institutions. Fraudsters can use these identities to persuade victims to transfer money or reveal information that gives them access to financial accounts.
But the official figures may represent only part of the problem.
According to NCCIA sources, thousands of people are defrauded of relatively small amounts every day but do not report the incidents. Some victims may consider losses of a few thousand rupees too small to pursue, while others may not know where or how to complain.
That silence creates a gap between the scale of cyber fraud and the cases visible to authorities. It also means that the financial damage recorded in official complaints may not capture the full cost to households.
The figures involving parliamentarians underline another point: digital fraud does not necessarily depend on a victim’s position, education or access to resources. Anyone using a phone, messaging application or online banking service can become a target.
As more financial and personal activity moves online, the challenge is no longer simply protecting computers from hackers. It is also about recognising deception before a convincing message, call or familiar account turns into a financial loss.
