The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has dismissed a cybersecurity warning circulating on social media as fake and misleading, and urged the public not to share unverified information.
The telecom regulator said it had not issued any such alert and rejected the claims made in the viral notification.
The fake message claimed that answering a call from a specific landline number could allow hackers to access a person’s mobile phone data and accounts.
It also claimed that hackers could steal users’ data within five to seven seconds of the call.
The PTA urged the public to ignore such unverified warnings and avoid sharing them on social media, saying they could create unnecessary fear and confusion.
The authority advised citizens to rely only on its official communication channels and verified social media accounts for genuine cybersecurity alerts and other updates.
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Earlier, the chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) revealed that biometric records of around 600,000 people were recovered during raids conducted jointly with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
The disclosure was made during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior.
According to the PTA chairman, the authority conducted 125 raids in collaboration with cybercrime authorities. During the operations, officials recovered 25,000 SIM cards and arrested 171 people.
