The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) is the Pakistani agency that investigates cybercrime, including online financial fraud, fake investment schemes, harassment and blackmail on social media, fake identities and the misuse of digital platforms. It was set up to take over cybercrime investigation work, and its cases are registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.

Anyone who is targeted can report the matter through the NCCIA helpline 1799 or at their nearest NCCIA circle office. Reports can also be made to the agency's Cyber Crime Reporting Centre, whose website is www.cybercrime.gov.pk. People reporting a fraud should keep the messages, payment records and account details involved, as investigators use them to trace where the money went.

What the agency has done recently

In its first month under Director General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, the NCCIA received 5,176 complaints, registered 4,491 inquiries, filed 272 cases and arrested 1,129 suspects, recovering Rs105.3 million that was returned to victims. On 3 November, it raided a call centre in Karachi's PECHS area and detained 273 people, including 42 minors, in an alleged scam network targeting people abroad; nine key suspects were given a two-day physical remand.

The agency's work remains in the news: on 9 November it reported recovering Rs1.4 million in a Rs21 million online investment fraud run through a WhatsApp group, and it has also warned citizens about fraudulent messages falsely claiming a Rs13,000 cash reward. Its advice is consistent: be cautious of investment offers promising unusually high returns, especially in WhatsApp groups, and do not transfer money to beneficiary accounts on the say-so of strangers.