LAHORE: Punjab authorities have launched a major crackdown against an organised phishing scam involving fake e-challan messages that targeted thousands of citizens across the country. The Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) has formally requested the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to trace the perpetrators who allegedly cloned the official PSCA website and circulated fraudulent payment alerts via SMS and WhatsApp.

Over the past few weeks, a sharp increase in public complaints revealed that people were receiving fake messages claiming they had unpaid traffic fines. In several cases, individuals who did not own vehicles or even hold driving licences were targeted, including residents of Karachi. The messages contained malicious links that redirected users to a website designed to look identical to the official PSCA portal.

Following these reports, PSCA teams conducted a technical investigation and confirmed that the circulated website was a cloned platform created specifically to deceive users and steal money. The authority immediately declared the link as illegitimate and warned the public about an active phishing campaign aimed at exploiting innocent citizens through digital fraud.

PSCA Managing Director Ahsan Younas stated that online financial scams are rapidly increasing, with criminals using sophisticated internet-based methods to manipulate victims. He clarified that PSCA does not use urgent or threatening language in its official communications and that genuine e-challan messages are sent only from the official shortcode 8070.

The fraudulent website was found to be operating on non-government domains, unlike the authentic PSCA portal that ends with “.gov.pk”. To limit public losses, PSCA launched a nationwide awareness campaign advising citizens to verify any challan alerts only through official channels and avoid clicking on unknown links.

Meanwhile, PSCA Chief Operating Officer Mustansar Feroze revealed that one traced mobile number was linked to an unsuspecting woman, indicating the involvement of black-market SIM and CNIC misuse. Authorities believe the fraud network is using multiple fake identities and devices. The NCCIA has now begun a high-level probe to dismantle the group and protect public trust.