NTISB or National Telecom and Information Security Board notified that a fake portal of NADRA tempted the Pakistani living abroad to fill the user-friendly forms. According to the website, once a form is filled, $65 has been charged for delivering documents to the house. As it is not operational in Pakistan, NTISB believes it only targeted the overseas Pakistani.
There were hundreds of complaints from overseas Pakistanis that despite paying the fees and filling the forms by NADRA, they still haven’t received the documents.
The Fake Forms of the website similarize the originals ones by NADRA and in fact, the website also has a digital verification. The hackers seem to have planned the looting just for the Pakistanis living abroad as it is completely inaccessible in Pakistan. As it is inaccessible in the country, so the website cannot be blacklisted too.
After getting identified by NTISB, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority confirmed that it has been taken down by the authorities.
Following are some tips that NTISB has advised the overseas citizens to check so that scamming can be avoided:
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- Double-check the domain and website before using the online payment method because money transferred via Money Gram is impossible to be retrieved.
- Just because there is an “HTTP” before a website doesn’t mean it’s been verified by the Government of Pakistan
- Submitting personal information for registration on unofficial websites can lead to identity theft, blackmailing, and online harassment
- Never share One Time Passwords received on the phone number or email address with anyone.
- Using 2 step authentications on social media platforms and online banking can also help in the prevention of cyber-attacks.
- Keep debit and credit card information private and do not share it on every website online.
