In a major SIM swap fraud case, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has fined Ufone (Pakistan Telecom Mobile Limited) Rs77.8 million in each of two cases after duplicate SIMs, issued without customers’ consent, were used to empty their bank accounts. MNA Farhan Chishti lost Rs1.5 million, MNA Shahryar Mahar lost Rs2 million in a separate incident, and Karachi businessman Sunny Kumar lost about Rs8.5 million.
How the SIM Swap Fraud Worked
Chishti’s phone stopped working after he landed in Islamabad on January 12. When he visited a service centre, he was told that a duplicate SIM had been issued on his number from a retail point in Karachi’s Malir area. Before he could get it blocked, someone registered him for online banking, raised his withdrawal limit and moved Rs1.5 million into accounts opened in the names of women in South Punjab and Sindh.
In Kumar’s case, a duplicate SIM was issued on September 29, 2025, at a retail outlet in Dhabeji, Thatta, and about Rs8.5 million was taken from his account. Investigators found that a bank officer in Mardan had viewed his account before the SIM was issued. The officer had accessed around 30 accounts, with suspected fraud of about Rs25 million. Kumar later recovered his money from the bank.
PTA Rejects Ufone’s Defence
Ufone argued that its retailer had been deceived by a third party. The PTA rejected this, saying that under its regulations an operator is solely responsible for every SIM issued through its network. The regulator said biometric verification and NADRA checks did not excuse the lapse because the SIM was issued without the customer being physically present, and it found the company’s monitoring and enforcement unsatisfactory. Ufone was given 10 days to deposit the fine.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) is investigating the financial fraud. Investigators believe gangs collect fingerprints in bulk from data leaks and other sources and use software to get past biometric checks.
What Happens Next
The PTA has acknowledged that fraudsters are bypassing biometric safeguards and says it has blocked 18.2 million illegal SIMs in about two and a half years. A National Assembly committee has asked the Interior Ministry to work with the State Bank of Pakistan, PTA and telecom operators on new legal and technical safeguards. So far, banks have only been ordered to return victims’ money.
This is not the first such penalty. In July, the PTA fined four mobile operators about Rs740 million over unauthorised SIM activations through their franchises.
Customers whose phone suddenly loses signal for no clear reason should contact their mobile operator and bank immediately, as this can be the first sign of a SIM swap.
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