Scammed Buying Online in Pakistan? Here's Exactly What to Do (2026)

What to do if you've been scammed online in Pakistan

If you have been scammed online in Pakistan, do three things immediately: contact your bank to report the transaction as fraudulent and request a freeze or reversal, file a complaint with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on helpline 1799 or through their complaint process, and preserve every piece of evidence before the scammer deletes it. Speed matters more than anything else, because money is far easier to recover in the first hours.

Step 1: Contact your bank immediately

Call your bank's helpline and report the transaction as fraud. Ask specifically whether the transfer can be recalled or the beneficiary account frozen. Banks in Pakistan can sometimes freeze a receiving account if the report arrives quickly, but the window is short: once the scammer withdraws the money, recovery becomes very difficult. Do this before anything else, even before you finish gathering evidence.

Step 2: Report to the NCCIA

Cybercrime in Pakistan is handled by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, which replaced the FIA's Cybercrime Wing in 2024. The helpline is 1799. File a written complaint with your evidence attached. You are not wasting anyone's time by reporting a small amount: complaints build the case pattern that gets repeat scammers caught, and you cannot pursue recovery later without a report on record.

Step 3: Preserve the evidence before it disappears

Scammers delete accounts fast. Screenshot everything now, not later:

• The full chat history, including the profile name and any phone numbers used.
• The listing itself, with photos and price.
• The bank transfer receipt, the account title, and the account number you paid.
• The IMEI or serial number if a device was involved.
• Any call log entries showing contact with the seller.

Save these outside the app as well, because a deleted account can take the whole conversation with it.

How likely is it that you get the money back?

Honestly: recovery is possible but not typical, and it depends almost entirely on speed. If you report within hours and the funds are still sitting in the receiving account, a freeze can work. If days have passed, or the money moved through several accounts, the realistic outcome is a criminal complaint rather than a refund. This is why prevention matters far more than remedy, and why paying a stranger directly is the mistake to avoid in the first place.

How common is this in Pakistan?

You are not alone, and this is not a rare mistake. Pakistan's National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency received over 150,000 cybercrime complaints in 2025, of which 81,996 were specifically financial fraud, according to government data presented to the National Assembly in January 2026. Cybercrime in Pakistan rose roughly 35% during 2025. Classifieds platforms carry no responsibility for these deals, because they only introduce buyer and seller.

How to never be in this position again

The single rule that prevents almost all of these cases: never send money directly to a stranger's account. Use a platform that holds the payment in escrow until you have the item in your hands and have confirmed it. On Yaqeen every seller is CNIC-verified, the buyer's payment is held rather than passed to the seller, and there is a 72-hour window to inspect the device and raise a dispute. If the item is fake, blocked, or never arrives, the money is still recoverable because it never left escrow.