If a message on your phone promises you Rs13,000 in cash from the Prime Minister on Iqbal Day, delete it. That is the warning the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) issued on Monday, after fake messages offering a fake Rs13,000 reward scam began circulating across Pakistan.
The messages claim that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is giving citizens Rs13,000 in cash to mark Iqbal Day. The NCCIA says the claim is completely false. No such reward exists, and the messages are a trap designed to steal personal information and banking details from anyone who responds.
How the fake Rs13,000 messages work
The fraud follows a familiar pattern. A message arrives on WhatsApp, SMS or social media, dressed up to look official. It mentions the Prime Minister by name and the Iqbal Day occasion, and it carries a link that promises to release the Rs13,000 payment once the recipient fills in a form or follows the instructions.
The NCCIA says those links are the danger. Clicking one can lead to a fake page that asks for bank account numbers, card details, one-time passwords or identity information. Once a victim hands those details over, the criminals can drain accounts or use the information for further fraud. The agency has urged citizens not to click on unverified links and never to share personal or banking details in response to such offers.
The fake Rs13,000 reward scam is timed to exploit trust. Government cash-assistance programmes are widely known in Pakistan, so a message promising a cash reward from the Prime Minister can look plausible at first glance — especially on a public holiday, when millions of people are scrolling through their phones and sharing festive messages with family.
Why the Iqbal Day timing matters
The scam is riding on Iqbal Day, the 149th birth anniversary of national poet Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal, observed across Pakistan on 9 November 2026 with a public holiday. Fraudsters regularly attach their schemes to national occasions because the occasion gives the message a ready-made reason to exist — and because people are more likely to forward a message that looks like a celebration gift.
The NCCIA’s warning, issued on Monday, makes the position clear: the Prime Minister is not offering Rs13,000 to citizens, and any message saying otherwise is fake. The agency has asked the public to treat every such message as fraud, no matter how official it looks or who forwarded it.
What NCCIA says — and how to report it
NCCIA Director General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said the agency was following a zero-tolerance policy against cyber fraud and would continue taking action against the people behind online scams. The agency said it was tracking the fake messages and would act against those involved.
Anyone who receives one of these messages, or who has already clicked a link or shared details, should report it. Citizens can contact the NCCIA through its helpline 1799 or visit their nearest NCCIA circle office to lodge a complaint. Reporting quickly matters: the sooner the agency knows about a fake link, the sooner it can move to have it blocked and warn others.
The simplest rule the NCCIA repeats in every such warning is worth remembering. The government does not ask citizens to click a link in a text message to claim cash, and it never asks for bank account details, card numbers or one-time passwords through WhatsApp or SMS. Any message that does is a scam.
Same day, another warning: the Rs21 million WhatsApp scam
The Iqbal Day warning was not the NCCIA’s only disclosure on Monday. The agency also said it had recovered Rs1.4 million in an online investment fraud worth more than Rs21 million, in which a Rawalpindi resident was deceived through a WhatsApp group.
According to the NCCIA, the complainant, Muhammad Arshad, was lured into the scheme through a WhatsApp group named “v185-Wharton”, which promised attractive investment opportunities and high returns. He transferred a total of Rs21,018,511 to different beneficiary accounts through mobile banking and ATM card transactions. One suspect has been arrested and is on physical remand, and efforts are under way to recover the remaining amount — about Rs19.6 million is still missing.
The case fits a pattern the NCCIA has been fighting all year. In August, the agency arrested 28 suspects across Punjab in a crackdown on similar schemes, and in October a court sentenced three people to seven years each in a separate Rs19.4 million fraud case. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has also repeatedly warned about fraudulent investment schemes operating through WhatsApp and Facebook.
Together, the two disclosures tell the same story. Whether the bait is a fake Rs13,000 reward or a promise of huge investment returns, the method is the same: a message that looks official, a link or a group that feels legitimate, and a request for money or personal details. The NCCIA’s advice is the same in both cases — do not click, do not share, and report it on 1799.
Sources and related reading
The NCCIA’s Iqbal Day warning was reported by PKRevenue and Bloom Pakistan on 9 November 2026, with ARY News carrying the agency’s caution a day earlier. The WhatsApp investment fraud recovery was reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan and TechJuice the same day. Readers who want to know how these scams operate can also read our earlier coverage of the NCCIA’s fake bank receipt fraud case in Rawalpindi and the Karachi call-centre raid in which 273 people were arrested.
Related Posts
TechnologyGTA 6 Leak: 55 Trophies and Achievements at Launch, With a Mystery 1,000-Point Reward
TechnologyBinance Names Justin Yek as New CFO as Kaiser Ng Departs After $6.3 Billion Hack
TechnologyRealme 17 Pro Leaked Specs: 10,000mAh Battery, Dimensity 7300 and 1.5K 120Hz AMOLED Display
TechnologyApple’s Siri Could Work Like an AI Agent as Early as 2027, Gurman Reports
TechnologyBYD Yangwang Altior: The $311,500 Electric Limousine That Can Float and Turn Like a Tank
TechnologyJensen Huang Admits Affair as Nvidia Opens Investigation into Suspected Chinese SpyMost Popular
How-ToPTA Tax Calculator 2026: Check Mobile Tax on Any Phone419 views
Pakistan NewsPIA Boeing 787 Lease Deal: What It Means for the Airline392 views
Canada JobsTech Jobs in Canada: Roles, Salaries, and Skills Needed389 views
SportsUEFA Champions League 2026-27: Format, Teams and Schedule386 views
TechnologyPM Shehbaz Sets November Deadline for Alibaba AI and Digitalisation Projects in Pakistan367 views
ShowbizWomen’s Fashion in Pakistan 2026: Trends, Brands and Style Guide362 views
