Rs 13,000 Iqbal Day reward from the PM is fake, NCCIA warns: what to do if you clicked

There is no Rs 13,000 Iqbal Day cash reward from the Prime Minister. The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) warned on Sunday 8 November that links now circulating on WhatsApp and social media, promising Rs 13,000 "on behalf of the Prime Minister" for Iqbal Day, are fake and are being used to collect people's personal details, ARY News reported from the agency's advisory.

The timing is deliberate. Monday 9 November is a public holiday for Allama Iqbal's birthday (our holiday page), banks are shut, and a message dressed up as a holiday gift from the government reaches people when they cannot call their branch.

What the message looks like

The versions doing the rounds share a pattern the NCCIA describes as misleading messages, fake links and fabricated announcements:

• a round figure (Rs 13,000) presented as a reward or relief payment "from the PM";
• a link to "register" or "claim", usually not on a gov.pk address;
• a request for your CNIC number, phone number, bank or wallet details, or a code sent to your phone;
• pressure to act today and to forward the message to others.

No federal relief payment is announced through a forwarded link. Real government payments, such as BISP instalments, are announced through official channels and their own short codes.

What NCCIA says to do

The agency asked citizens not to click suspicious links, not to forward unverified messages, and not to share personal or financial information with unknown sources. Check any announcement of a payment or benefit on the government's own websites and official social media accounts before acting on it.

If you already clicked or shared details

1. Money or a wallet involved: call your bank or wallet's helpline at once and block the account or card. Do not wait for Tuesday.
2. You gave a code (OTP): assume your WhatsApp or wallet is at risk. Turn on WhatsApp two-step verification and change your PINs.
3. Report it: file a complaint on the NCCIA portal, complaint.nccia.gov.pk, or call the 1799 cyber helpline. Our step-by-step cyber crime complaint guide lists the evidence to keep: screenshots of the message, the link and the number that sent it.
4. Warn the group you received it from, rather than forwarding it on.

The wider pattern

This is the latest in a run of warnings this autumn. The PTA has warned about callers posing as courier companies who ask for a one-time code (our story), and the State Bank has named four bank scams doing the rounds, including fake debit SMS and spoofed helpline numbers (our report). Last week the NCCIA said Karachi alone had 300 to 350 scam call centres (our story).

The rule is the same in every case: a payment you did not apply for, offered through a link, is not real.