Pakistani cyber agency arrests man behind $126 million US stamp fraud scheme
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency detained a 33-year-old Khanewal resident in Lahore for operating a website that sold over five million counterfeit US postage stamps, causing more than $126 million in losses to the US Postal Service.
NCCIA’s Lahore Zone Additional Director Atif Ameer revealed that a 33-year-old man from Khanewal was captured in Lahore for allegedly managing LabelsBank.com, an unauthorised platform that sold more than five million counterfeit US postage stamps between August 2023 and September 2026. The US Postal Service estimates the fraud caused losses exceeding $126 million, roughly Rs35 billion. Investigators identified 16 bank accounts used to funnel the proceeds—seven belonging to the suspect, five to his brother, two to his wife, and one each to his sister and aunt.
Eight special teams operating in Punjab, Islamabad and Sindh conducted raids at 35 locations, interrogated 47 individuals, and examined 122 call-data records, 50 IMEI reports and footage from 120 cameras, employing AI and other forensic technologies. Authorities are also probing other actors who may have handled order processing, payments or distribution. The probe aims to map the full financial network and determine the overall scale of the operation.
Why it matters
The case shows how digital fraud can inflict huge financial damage on public services and highlights the importance of international cybercrime cooperation.
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