ISLAMABAD: An ATM scam affecting hundreds of debit card users in Pakistan has led to several arrests by the country’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which apprehended another four suspects on Sunday.
FIA official Abdul Ghaffar Mirani told Arab News that investigators have unearthed a scam of about $105,000 and expected the number to rise after digital forensic experts searched confiscated equipment and cloned debit cards used by the scammers.
Mirani withheld the exact number of people arrested but said that mostly Chinese nationals had been taken into custody. “Our team is probing further as more complaints are pouring in and data is being compiled from other cities,” he said.
The cyber heist is being dealt with by the FIA’s National Response Center for Cyber Crime (NR3C), the country’s only technology-based crime division, which was set up 10 years ago and assists other law enforcement agencies in Pakistan.
On Friday, FIA Director Shakeel Durrani said at a press briefing that the investigation had revealed the involvement of Canadian, Nigerian and Italian hackers, as well as an Indian scammer identified as Sorev.
The information was divulged by Saqibullah, a Rawalpindi resident running a racketeering business, who as their front man sold stolen financial information to the hackers. He is also involved in identity theft, credit debit card cloning and extortion. His arrest has expanded into a FIA investigation searching for his collaborators.
Durrani said, “The prime suspect (Saqibullah) would take photos of ATM machines to match suitable skimming machines that were ordered from other countries.”
The cash withdrawals from the hacked accounts were in China, Canada, Italy, Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, US, but were not limited to those countries, he said.
Revelations of the ATM-skimming scam were revealed last week by the country’s largest financial institution, Habib Bank Limited (HBL), which confirmed more than $105,000 had been stolen from 559 hacked HBL customers, mostly in the cities of Karachi and Lahore.
“We have more than 10 million customers, which means that the size of the amount missing is not very significant for the HBL, while the number of customers affected is also low, said HBL’s corporate and marketing executive Naveed Asghar, who was reported in a local English daily. “It is a fraud and we must check it and find the culprits ... it happens in all the countries that use ATMs,” he said.
Banks using outdated technology fitted with aging security protocols attracted a “organized foreign group” to hack the ATM booths, suggests the FIA, which is approaching the State Bank of Pakistan, the country’s banking regulator, to introduce biometric policy and enforce it across the banking spectrum.
An HBL official in Islamabad told Arab News: “The practice of skimming is not new,” but the bank’s new biometric security measures, currently being introduced in its ATMs, “will prevent and curb future hacks.” Though HBL seems to be the main target, Standard Chartered Bank, Faysal Bank Limited, Bank Al Habib Limited and other banks have also fallen victim to cybercrime, he said.
“Officially the bank hasn’t sent out warning notifications to customers of this continuing fraud but we are compensating the affected account holders. An internal memo has been circulated for each bank branch to check and monitor the ATMs,” the banking officer said.
ATM cyber heists hit Pakistan banks
ATM cyber heists hit Pakistan banks
Saudi ambassador urges Bangladeshi companies to join FIFA World Cup 2034 projects
- Ambassador cites Bangladeshis’ experience of 2022 World Cup Qatar projects
- Bangladeshi expat workers in Saudi Arabia are hardworking and intelligent, he says
DHAKA: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Dhaka has invited Bangladeshi companies to bid for FIFA World Cup construction projects as the tournament, to be hosted by the Kingdom in 2034, will require the construction of new stadiums and supporting infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia won the bid to host the world’s largest sporting event, with plans to hold games across 15 stadiums in five cities. Many migrant workers will be involved in building new sports facilities, transport networks, and hotel infrastructure.
“Bangladeshi workers already have experience with the World Cup in Qatar,” Ambassador Essa Al-Duhailan told Arab News at his office in the Bangladeshi capital on Tuesday.
“I urge the construction companies from Bangladesh to go to Saudi Arabia because we will build 11 stadiums and renovate five other existing stadiums. So this will also be a big opportunity for the companies and for the workers to go and participate in this ... And not only the construction of stadiums, but hotels and resorts. This will be a very good opportunity for Bangladesh.”
Some 2 million expatriate workers in Qatar were crucial in making the 2022 World Cup mega-projects a reality. Most of them were Bangladeshis. They have constructed and renovated eight stadiums, a whole new city, Lusail, the Doha Metro, hotels, and new transportation routes.
“You have enough numbers of skilled workers. We are happy to accommodate them and to welcome them. And they will have very good opportunities,” Al-Duhailan said.
“Bangladeshi workers and migrants are hard workers, and they are intelligent, and you can rely on them.”
Around 3 million Bangladeshi nationals live and work in Saudi Arabia. They are the largest expat group in the Kingdom and the largest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh. Many are employed in the construction sector and more are likely to find jobs in the industry in the next few years, as the Kingdom prepares to host not only the 2034 World Cup, but also the AFC Asian Cup in 2027, the Asian Winter Games in 2029, and the World Expo in 2030.
“The business of construction will be in high demand (of workers),” Al-Duhailan said.
“We already started preparations ... We are processing 5,000 to 7,000 visas (for Bangladeshis) every day. And we are (willing) to accommodate more.”
Sweden’s worst mass shooting leaves at least 11 dead at an adult education center
OREBRO, Sweden: Sweden’s worst mass shooting left at least 11 people dead, including the gunman, at an adult education center west of Stockholm as officials warned that the death toll could rise.
The gunman’s motive, as well as the number of wounded, hadn’t been determined by early Wednesday as the Scandinavian nation — where gun violence at schools is very rare — reeled from an attack with such bloodshed that police early on said it was difficult to count the number of dead among the carnage.
The school, called Campus Risbergska, offers primary and secondary educational classes for adults age 20 and older, Swedish-language classes for immigrants, vocational training and programs for people with intellectual disabilities. It is on the outskirts of Orebro, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Stockholm.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer called the shooting “an event that shakes our entire society to its core.” King Carl XVI Gustaf and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the Royal Palace and government buildings. The Swedish news agency TT reported that officials have planned a news conference for Wednesday morning.
The shooting started Tuesday afternoon after many students had gone home following a national exam. Students sheltered in nearby buildings, and other parts of the school were evacuated following the shooting.
Authorities were working to identify the deceased, and police said the toll could rise. Roberto Eid Forest, head of the local police, told reporters that the suspected gunman was among the dead.
There were no warnings beforehand, and police believe the perpetrator acted alone. Police haven’t said if the man was a student at the school. They haven’t released a possible motive, but authorities said there were no suspected connections to terrorism at this point.
Police raided the suspect’s home after Tuesday’s shooting, but it wasn’t immediately clear what they found.
“Today, we have witnessed brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people,” the prime minister told reporters in Stockholm late Tuesday. “This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history. Many questions remain unanswered, and I cannot provide those answers either.
“But the time will come when we will know what happened, how it could occur, and what motives may have been behind it. Let us not speculate,” he said.
While gun violence at schools is very rare in Sweden, people were wounded or killed with other weapons such as knives or axes in several incidents in recent years.
Trump says he would love to make a deal with Iran
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would love to make a deal with Iran to improve bilateral relations, but added that Tehran should not develop a nuclear weapon.
“I say this to Iran, who's listening very intently, 'I would love to be able to make a great deal. A deal where you can get on with your lives,”” Trump told reporters in Washington.
“They cannot have one thing. They cannot have a nuclear weapon and if I think that they will have a nuclear weapon ... I think that's going to be very unfortunate for them,” He said.
Drone attack sparks blaze at oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar, governor says
A Ukrainian drone attack overnight sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia’s southern region of Krasnodar that has since been extinguished, regional officials said on Wednesday.
A series of drone attacks by Ukraine on Russia’s energy facilities have sparked fires in recent days at a major oil refinery in the Volgograd region, as well as at the Astrakhan gas processing plant.
“The fire in a tank with oil product residues in the village of Novominskaya in the Kanevsky District was fully extinguished,” the region’s operational authorities said on the Telegram messaging app.
Earlier, Veniamin Kondratyev, governor of the Krasnodar region, said that there were no injuries in the fire that was caused by a falling drone debris. A team of 19 people wielding 19 items of equipment were fighting the flames, he said.
Kondratyev did not say which depot was on fire or detail the extent of damage.
The Russian defense ministry said that four Ukrainian drones were destroyed over the Russian territory overnight, but did not mention the Krasnodar region in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
The ministry only reports drones that its air defense systems destroy, not how many were launched.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv says that its attacks inside Russia are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Moscow’s war in Ukraine and are in response to Russian continued bombing of Ukraine.
5 people wounded in shooting at Ohio cosmetics warehouse
- Police say five people have been wounded in a shooting at a cosmetics warehouse in New Albany, Ohio
- A spokesperson for New Albany says victims of Tuesday night’s shooting have been transported to the hospital
NEW ALBANY: Five people were wounded in a shooting Tuesday night at a cosmetics warehouse in Ohio, officials said.
The victims have been transported to the hospital and the suspect is no longer believed to be at the building, said Josh Poland, a spokesperson for the city of New Albany.
The shooting happened at the warehouse for a company that makes products including cosmetics and toiletries. Police did not immediately provide details of the circumstances surrounding the shooting or the conditions of those wounded.
Police were working to evacuate all the employees following the shooting, which happened just before 11 p.m., police said in a statement.
