How to report a crypto scam in Pakistan: NCCIA, PVARA and your bank

Key takeaways

• Call your bank or mobile wallet first. The sooner they know, the better the chance a transfer can be stopped.
• File a cybercrime complaint with the NCCIA online at complaint.nccia.gov.pk, or call its 24-hour helpline, 1799. You need your CNIC.
• PVARA takes complaints about crypto fraud and unlicensed crypto firms. It says it acknowledges them within two business days.
• The Banking Mohtasib can review a commercial bank's handling of your case, but only after you have complained to the bank.

Crypto scams in Pakistan take familiar forms: "investment" groups promising fixed daily returns, fake exchange apps, P2P buyers who reverse a payment, and impersonators who claim to be from an exchange or a regulator. The details change; the reporting routes don't.

This guide covers where to report and what to have ready. It does not promise you will get money back. Often you won't. Reporting quickly gives you the best chance, and it creates the record that investigators work from.

Step 1: Your bank or wallet, immediately

If you sent rupees by bank transfer, Raast, Easypaisa or JazzCash, call the provider's helpline straight away. Ask them to flag the transaction as fraud and, if possible, to hold the receiving account. Write down the complaint number and the time you called.

Do this before anything else. Banks and wallets can sometimes act within hours. Investigators usually can't.

If you sent crypto from an exchange account, report it to the exchange through its support channel too. Give it the transaction ID, known as the hash, and the receiving wallet address.

Step 2: The NCCIA

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency investigates online fraud, which includes most crypto scams. You can:

• File online at complaint.nccia.gov.pk. The form asks for your full name, CNIC, gender, mobile number and city. It also asks you to describe the crime under the category "Cybercrime (Hacking, Electronic Frauds…)". Email and address are optional.
• Call the 24-hour helpline: 1799.
• Visit an office. The NCCIA has offices in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and other cities, listed on its website.

In the details box, set out what happened in order, with dates, amounts and every account number, wallet address and phone number involved. You affirm on the form that the information is correct, so stick to what you know.

Fraud through a computer system is an offence under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. Courts have also been careful about who is liable. In a 2026 case, the Lahore High Court held that a P2P seller who simply received a buyer's rupees was not, on that fact alone, guilty of electronic fraud (2026 LHC 4849). Investigators look for the people who deceived you, not everyone your money passed through.

Step 3: PVARA

The Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority runs a complaints portal. It takes four types of complaint:

• suspected fraud, scams or deceptive practices by crypto service providers
• firms offering crypto services without PVARA authorisation
• misconduct by licensed providers
• other concerns about virtual assets

PVARA says it acknowledges a complaint within two business days, and that a full investigation may take 30 to 60 days. You get a reference number to track it.

PVARA regulates businesses, not individuals. It is the right place to report a platform, an app or a company. A fraud by an individual is a matter for the NCCIA. No crypto firm holds a full PVARA licence yet, as our licence tracker shows. So a report about an "unlicensed" crypto service is, today, a report about any of them that targets Pakistanis without PVARA's permission.

Once firms are licensed, PVARA's rules will require each to acknowledge a complaint within 24 hours. A firm that has not resolved a complaint within seven working days must explain the delay in writing (regulation 53).

Step 4: If your bank lets you down

If you complained to a commercial bank and are unhappy with how it handled your case, the Banking Mohtasib (banking ombudsman) can review it. Its online form sets conditions:

• you must already have complained to the bank
• the complaint must be against a scheduled commercial bank, not a microfinance bank
• the matter must not be pending before a court

Some mobile wallets are run by microfinance banks, so the Mohtasib may not cover them. If yours is one, take the complaint up the provider's own escalation route and keep every complaint number.

What to keep before you report

• screenshots of chats, adverts, the app or website, and any "profit" dashboard
• bank or wallet statements showing each payment
• crypto transaction IDs (hashes) and wallet addresses
• the scammer's phone numbers, usernames, account titles and IBANs
• dates and times of each step

Don't delete the chat or the app, even if you are embarrassed. It is evidence.

What this means for Pakistani users

• Speed matters more than anything else. Call the bank or wallet first, then file with the NCCIA the same day.
• Nobody legitimate will ask you to pay to recover lost money. "Recovery agents" who contact you after a scam are a common second scam.
• PVARA does not run trading groups, sell tokens or contact you on WhatsApp to invest. Nor does any licensed firm need your password.
• "Guaranteed" daily returns are the clearest warning sign. No legitimate crypto product guarantees them.

This is a guide to public reporting channels, not legal advice. If you face large losses, a lawyer can help you follow up a complaint.

What we're watching

• The independent dispute-resolution scheme that section 45(2) of the Virtual Assets Act allows PVARA to set up, for smaller claims.
• Whether PVARA publishes warnings naming unauthorised platforms, as regulators such as Dubai's VARA do.
• NCCIA figures on crypto-related complaints, if it publishes them.

Sources

• National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, home page and Complaint Registration Form, read 15 October 2026.
• PVARA, Complaints and Grievance Portal, read 15 October 2026.
• PVARA, Pakistan Virtual Asset Services Regulations, 2026, S.R.O. 1419(I)/2026, reg 53.
• Banking Mohtasib Pakistan, online complaint conditions, read 15 October 2026.
• Lahore High Court, 2026 LHC 4849.