In a troubling development, fraudsters are impersonating Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab, Fuad Hashim Rabbani, to conduct a sophisticated scam targeting field officers in South Punjab, according to Gizmo Pakistan.
The media outlet, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that scammers are posing as Additional Chief Secretary of South Punjab to trick field officers into making financial deposits.
The scammers call the officers, claiming to be Rabbani and stating there is an urgent matter to discuss. They then instruct the officers to deposit Rs. 35,000 rupees into a UBL branch, supposedly for solar panel installation.
Furthermore, the scam deceived several officers, including an Assistant Commissioner. Gizmo Pakistan has documented phone conversations between the scammers and their victims, revealing the extent of the deception.
The scam takes advantage of landline phones lacking Caller Line Identification (CLI). Scammers exploit this by impersonating senior officials, which makes it difficult for field officers to verify their identity.
Using a landline operator to facilitate the call, scammers bypass the need for identification, creating a false sense of urgency and authority that coerces officers into making payments.
In response to the scam, the Office of the Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab has alerted the cyber wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), as confirmed by Gizmo Pakistan.
