PTA blocks over 13000 scam links reported online

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has reviewed 13185 URLs linked to electronic fraud and online scams for blocking, and successfully blocked 13021 of them.

According to an official document, more than 13000 suspicious links were reported across different social media platforms. Out of these, over 12900 were successfully blocked. On Facebook, 1357 links were reported. Of these, 1,246 were blocked, 47 are still under review, and 64 were rejected by the platform, showing a 91.82 percent blocking rate. Instagram had 41 reported links, with 39 blocked and two not removed, resulting in a 95.12 percent blocking rate. YouTube received 122 flagged links. Of these, 99 were blocked, eight are under review, and 15 were rejected, giving an 81.15 percent efficiency. On Twitter, six links were shared, with five blocked and one under review, making an 83.33 percent blocking rate.

The largest category was labeled “Others,” which included 11659 links. Of these, 11632 were blocked, 17 are being reviewed, and 10 were rejected—achieving a 99.77 percent success rate. PTA clarified during a briefing that it does not control or supervise call centers or software houses. It explained that cyber fraud and online scams are handled by the NCCIA and FIA under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016. PTA’s main duty is to block harmful online content based on recommendations from these bodies.