SBP urges customers to remain vigilant against online frauds
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has urged customers to remain vigilant against suspicious messages and calls involving payments or transactions and never share their account PINs, passwords, or debit and credit card details with anyone. While speaking at a conference titled 24th Future Banking Summit & Expo 2026, organised by Total Communications in Karachi Said Ahmed Sumair, Joint…
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has called on its customers to stay alert against fraudulent messages and calls related to payments or transactions. The bank's Joint Director, Payment Systems Policy and Oversight Department, Said Ahmed Sumair, emphasized at a 24th Future Banking Summit & Expo 2026 conference in Karachi that customers are the first line of defense against online financial scams.
He stressed the importance of vigilance and greater awareness, stating that despite the implementation of a regulatory regime for cyber security and fraud mitigation, scammers are increasingly adept at using social engineering tactics to defraud individuals. Sumair advised customers to never share their account PINs, passwords, or debit and credit card details with anyone, under any circumstances.
The fraudsters often mimic the language and format of legitimate banking alerts, using SMS messages to make their scams appear legitimate. These messages typically claim that funds have been debited from the recipient's account or that they have won a prize from government bodies like Jeeto Pakistan and BISP. Sumair warned that genuine banking alerts will always originate from the bank's designated SMS short code, usually a four-digit number, rather than a private mobile number.
He also cautioned that scammers may try to spoof the UAN (Unique Account Number) numbers of the bank's helpline to make their calls sound authentic. Banks do not call customers from their official helpline, as they only receive calls. Sumair reiterated that while hacking into a bank's information system is difficult, hacking someone's trust is relatively easy.
He urged the public to be wary of calls claiming that they have won a prize or owe money to entities like Jeeto Pakistan and BISP, as these are likely to be fraudulent attempts.
Former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi argued that IMF loan programs are not the solution to Pakistan's debt crisis, which has risen to Rs85.5 trillion as of 2026 from Rs47 trillion in 2022. He cautioned that friendly Middle Eastern countries may not continue to offer bailout packages amid the ongoing political crisis in the region.
Rana Shahzad Qaiser, Director General of the Ministry of IT, Government of Sindh, mentioned that the provincial government is working on a Sindh Cloud Policy to further promote digital banking in the region. The ministry has established the Sindh Enterprise Incubation Center in Karachi to support the growth of start-ups, providing technical and vocational training to help people acquire the skills needed for better job opportunities.
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