You are home when the phone rings. The number on the screen is your bank's number. The man on the line knows your name. He says someone is trying to move money out of your account. He asks for the one time password that just arrived on your phone. You read it out. Ten minutes later, the money is gone.
This is online fraud, and it is the most common cybercrime in Pakistan. In 2025 the agency that investigates these crimes received 81,996 complaints of financial fraud out of 150,542 cybercrime complaints in total. The number grows every year.
If it happens to you, the law is on your side, but only if you act fast and complain to the right place. Here is where to complain in Pakistan and what to do first.
What does the law say about online fraud?
The main law is the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016, known as PECA. Section 14 makes electronic fraud a crime. It covers anyone who deceives another person for wrongful gain through an information system, device or data. The punishment is up to two years in prison, or a fine up to ten million rupees, or both.
Section 13 covers electronic forgery, such as fake screenshots and forged documents. That carries up to three years in prison or a fine up to two hundred and fifty thousand rupees.
Until 2025 the Federal Investigation Agency's Cyber Crime Wing handled these cases. Then the PECA Amendment Act 2025 created the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, the NCCIA, and it took over. PECA also covers other online activity, like the law on VPNs.
Where to complain about online fraud
You have three official routes, and none of them cost money.
The NCCIA online portal. Go to nccia.gov.pk and file the complaint there. You give your CNIC, describe what happened, and attach your evidence. The system gives you a reference number. Keep it, because you use it to track the complaint.
The helpline. The government runs a dedicated cybercrime helpline on 1799. The interior ministry confirmed it in the National Assembly in January 2026.
In person. You can visit the nearest Cyber Crime Reporting Centre. For serious cases, officials may ask you to come in person for verification.
Tell your bank the same day
Time matters. Call your bank right away and ask them to block your card and dispute the transaction. Most banks let you do this from their app.
Write down everything: the date, the amount, the name of the person you spoke to. The bank has 30 days to resolve your complaint. If it does not, you can complain to the Banking Mohtasib. It is a free government body for complaints against banks. It tries to resolve cases within two months and can order the bank to make good your loss. The State Bank lists the same route for consumer complaints. Some payment disputes are not fraud at all, like a cheque that bounced. We have covered cheque bounce cases separately.
What evidence to save
Evidence decides the case. Keep everything:
- Screenshots of the chat, the ad, or the page. Do not edit them.
- Transaction IDs and receipts for every payment.
- The account number, phone number or wallet ID you paid to.
- The scammer's phone number and social media profile.
- A plain written timeline: what happened, when, and how much you lost.
What happens after you complain
The NCCIA scrutinises every complaint. In 2025 it started 10,756 formal inquiries and registered 851 cases from those 150,542 complaints. It arrested 1,095 suspects. The financial crimes involved Rs 2.716 billion, of which Rs 452 million was recovered.
Be honest with yourself about the odds. A complaint gets the case on record. It does not guarantee your money back, and the process is slow. If the case becomes an FIR, you can check your FIR online by CNIC and follow it.
One warning: never pay someone who promises to recover your money for a fee. Advance payment to a recovery agent is usually the next scam.
How to avoid being scammed
The FIA's own guide to cyber safety lists the common tricks. The rules are simple:
- Never share your OTP, PIN or password. No bank and no government agency will ever ask for them.
- If an offer seems too good to be true, it is. Fake online shops with huge discounts are one of the most common frauds.
- Do not pay registration fees or security deposits for jobs. Job fraud is a listed FIA scam category.
- Ignore fake parcel calls and fake traffic challans. In the National Assembly, even the Speaker said his cloned voice was used to demand money.
- Check the seller before you pay. A shop with no address, no reviews and no history is a risk.
Online fraud in Pakistan is growing, but the system to report it exists and it works, slowly. Complain on the official channels, keep your evidence, and tell your bank first.
Related reading
If a payment dispute ends with a bounced cheque, read how cheque bounce cases work in Pakistan. PECA also governs the law on VPNs in Pakistan. If the NCCIA registers an FIR, you can check your FIR online in Pakistan. More legal guides are on the Lexiber blog, and you can start from the Lexiber home page.
Sharing private images without consent is a separate crime under the same Act. Our guide to the revenge porn law in Pakistan covers the penalties and the takedown steps.
For the exact filing process, see filing an FIA cybercrime complaint in Pakistan, step by step.
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