More than 227,000 people in Pakistan lost a combined Rs832 crores to cyber fraud over the past three years, with serving and former parliamentarians among those reporting financial losses, according to a report.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), which investigates cybercrime complaints, received reports from 227,757 victims during the period.
The documents show that 83,080 complaints were registered in 2024, followed by 76,646 in 2025 and 68,031 in the subsequent year.
Eight serving and former parliamentarians were also among those targeted, the documents show.
Former MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza reported losing Rs490,000, while Senator Falak Naz Chitrali lost Rs485,000, Senator Bilal Ahmed Mandokhail Rs403,500 and Senator Niaz Ahmed Rs30,000.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MPA Shehla Bano reported a loss of Rs370,800, while a former MPA was defrauded of Rs970,000.
The six parliamentarians identified in the documents collectively lost Rs27.49 lakh.
The NCCIA recovered money for three of them, namely Senators Falak Naz Chitrali, Bilal Ahmed Mandokhail and Niaz Ahmed.
More than Rs918,000 of the amount lost by the six parliamentarians was subsequently recovered, according to the documents.
Cyber fraud cases involving PML-N Senator Nasir Butt have also emerged, while PML-N MNA from Vehari Syed Sajid Mehdi was also identified among parliamentarians who fell victim to such schemes.
NCCIA officials said that most reported cases involved WhatsApp accounts being hacked or fraudsters calling victims while posing as representatives of banks or other institutions.
According to officials, thousands of additional victims lose between Rs2,000 and Rs20,000 each day but do not report the incidents to police or other authorities.
Some refrain from filing complaints because the amounts involved are relatively small, while others remain silent for unspecified reasons, they added.
