Fake FIA Officer Calls: The Arrest Threat Scam

A fake FIA officer call scam in Pakistan usually starts with a threat: your CNIC has been linked to a criminal case, or a warrant has been issued in your name, and you must pay money right now to stop the police from arresting you. The caller sounds official, may use your full name and CNIC number, and pressures you to act before you can think.

No real officer works this way. The FIA, the police, and the armed forces do not call citizens to demand money, and no criminal case is ever closed by a phone payment. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a scammer.

How the scam works

The fraud usually follows a simple script:

1. The official-sounding call. You get a call from a private mobile number. The caller claims to be an FIA officer, a police inspector, or an army officer, and says your CNIC or phone number has been linked to a crime — often money laundering, a fake SIM registration, or a complaint filed against you.
2. The threat. He says an FIR has been registered against you, or a warrant has been issued, and the police will come to your house today. Sometimes he transfers the call to a second person posing as a senior officer to make the threat sound more serious.
3. The payment demand. To “close the case” or “cancel the warrant”, he asks you to send money through Easypaisa or JazzCash, or to share your CNIC number, OTP, or bank details for “verification”.
4. The pressure to stay quiet. He may tell you not to hang up, not to tell your family, and to make the payment immediately while still on the call. That urgency is deliberate — it stops you from checking whether the call is real.

The same trick is also run on WhatsApp and social media. In October 2026, a social media account impersonating the FIA falsely claimed that international passengers could obtain immigration clearance a day before departure from Islamabad airport, and shared a WhatsApp number supposedly belonging to an FIA director. The FIA confirmed the post was fake and that no such pre-departure clearance system exists — immigration clearance happens at the airport at the time of departure.

Real cases the authorities have reported

This is not a rare trick. The authorities have repeatedly warned about it and arrested people running it:

• Fake FIA officer arrested at Islamabad airport. In 2026, the FIA arrested a man who allegedly posed as a serving FIA Sub-Inspector to extort money from citizens by promising to help with European visas and immigration clearance. Officers recovered a forged FIA service card and three mobile phones from him.
• Fake FIA officials blackmailing a student. In December 2025, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) arrested three suspects in Peshawar who allegedly impersonated FIA officials, used fake FIA uniforms, and blackmailed a female student after tricking her college into handing over her phone.
• A gang impersonating army officers. The FIA has busted gangs that swindled people by impersonating military officers over the phone, sometimes on the pretext of census verification, asking for CNIC and bank account details. The army’s media wing, ISPR, has warned the public that no such calls are made from the armed forces, and has asked people to report them on UAN 1135 and 1125.
• A call centre posing as police officers. In October 2026, the NCCIA raided a call centre in Rawalpindi where suspects allegedly posed as bank staff and Malaysian police officers, threatening victims abroad with money-laundering charges to pressure them into transferring money. The same impersonation script, run from Pakistan, targeted victims in another country.

Pakistan’s Consulate General in New York has also warned overseas Pakistanis about scam phone and WhatsApp calls from people impersonating consulate officials, the FIA, and Pakistani law enforcement agencies — sometimes using fake documents or uniforms to appear legitimate. The consulate has stated clearly that it does not make unsolicited calls or request personal information, documents, or payments over the phone or WhatsApp.

Red flags that expose the call

Any one of these signs means you should hang up:

• A threat of arrest on the phone. “Police will come to your house today” and “your case will be closed if you pay now” are pressure tactics, not official procedure. A real case is handled through written notices and the courts, not a phone payment.
• A payment demanded through Easypaisa or JazzCash. No government agency collects fines or “settlement” money into a stranger’s personal mobile wallet.
• A request for your OTP, PIN, or password. No genuine officer asks for these on a call. Ever.
• A call from a private mobile number. An officer handling a real case does not run the process from a personal 03xx number.
• Instructions to stay on the line while you pay. A real process never requires you to keep the caller on the phone during a payment.
• A second “senior officer” joining the call. The hand-off to a supposed inspector or director is a scripted trick to increase the pressure, not proof that the call is genuine.

What to do if you already paid or shared details

Act quickly, and keep every piece of evidence — the caller’s number, payment receipts, and screenshots of messages.

1. Call your bank or wallet provider immediately if you shared banking details or an OTP, and ask them to freeze the transaction.
2. Report to the NCCIA (National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency) cybercrime helpline 1799, or online — the agency handles online financial fraud.
3. Call the police helpline 15 if you were threatened with arrest or extortion, so the attempt is on record.
4. Report the number to PTA (helpline 0800-55055 or the PTA CMS app) so the SIM used by the fraudster can be blocked.
5. If money was taken from your bank account, you can also approach the Banking Mohtasib, the independent ombudsman for banking complaints, alongside your bank’s own complaint process.

How to protect yourself

• Never pay money to a caller who claims to be an officer. If a case genuinely exists against you, it is handled through formal notices and the courts — never by sending money to a mobile wallet on a phone call.
• Hang up and verify yourself. End the call, then contact the agency through its official helpline or visit its office in person. Never use a phone number or website link given to you by the suspicious caller.
• Never share your CNIC copy, OTP, PIN, or password with an unsolicited caller — even if he already knows your name. Leaked personal details are commonly used to make scams sound convincing.
• Do not act under pressure. Any call that demands an instant payment or threatens arrest is a scam signal. Hang up, breathe, verify.
• Warn your family, especially elderly relatives. These calls often target people who are less familiar with official procedures and more likely to panic at the mention of the police or the FIA.
• Report scam numbers to PTA and the NCCIA even if you did not lose money — every report helps block the fraudster’s SIM.

Related guides: Fake NADRA Officer Calls: The Verification Fee Scam, Fake Bank Helpline Calls: The “Your Account Is Blocked” Scam, Fake ‘You Won a Prize’ Calls in Pakistan, Millions Stolen via Duplicate SIMs in Pakistan, and Fake PTA Tax SMS: How Scammers Demand ‘DIRBS’ Payments.