The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency Lahore has arrested the main accused in the online sale of fake US stamps worth Rs 35 billion ($126 million).
Atif Amir, Additional Director of NCCIA in Lahore, told a press conference that the accused, Faheem Akram, a resident of Khanewal, allegedly created a website through which he sold more than 5 million stamps by bypassing the US Postal Service system. An operation continued for 10 days to search for and arrest the accused, after which the accused was arrested and a case was registered.
According to the Additional Director NCCIA, the accused Faheem Akram defrauded Rs 35 billion from the online sale of US stamps. The accused was selling fake US stamps for 3 years (from August 2023 to September 2026) by creating a fake website. It has been revealed that the accused used 16 bank accounts. The accused also used the bank accounts of his brother, wife, sister, and aunt.
According to Atif Amir, 8 special teams have been formed in Punjab, Islamabad and Sindh for the investigation. 35 locations were raided and 47 people were questioned. 122 call records, 50 IMEI tracking reports, video and audio of 120 cameras were analyzed. A locator operation was also underway for 10 days to trace the accused.
Atif Amir said that 8 special teams have been formed to investigate the case and are examining the financial transactions and the role of other people connected to this network.
It should be noted that earlier this month, Faheem Akram was indicted in the US state of Florida for causing $126 million in damage to the US Postal Service.
According to the US Attorney’s Office website, the accused had set the price of each ticket at $2, regardless of the weight or destination of the mail, which was much lower than the price of US Postal Service tickets. The accused sold 5.1 million such tickets.
The US Postal Inspection Service had also announced a reward of US$100,000 for information leading to the arrest of the accused and had said that the US has reach beyond its borders, and that those who defrauded the US Postal Service will be found and brought to justice.
An investigation by US authorities has revealed that 5,200 people purchased tickets from a fake website to ship their goods, which caused a loss of US$126 million to the US Postal Service. if Faheem Akram is found guilty, he could be sentenced to 5 years in prison for conspiracy and counterfeiting tickets and 20 years for online fraud.