The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has urged banking customers to remain vigilant against suspicious messages and calls involving payments or financial transactions, warning the public not to share account PINs, passwords, or debit and credit card information with anyone. The warning was issued during the 24th Future Banking Summit & Expo 2026 in Karachi, where Said Ahmed Sumair, Joint Director of the Payment Systems Policy and Oversight Department at SBP, highlighted the growing use of social engineering techniques by scammers to target banking customers.
Sumair said customers themselves represent the first line of defence against online financial scams and that greater awareness can help prevent fraudulent transactions. He noted that the SBP has already introduced a regulatory framework covering cybersecurity and fraud mitigation, while banks have implemented controls to protect customers and financial systems. However, scammers continue to rely on social engineering because manipulating a customer’s trust can be easier than directly compromising a bank’s information systems.
The SBP official advised customers to exercise particular caution when receiving unexpected communications concerning payments or transactions. He gave the example of a caller claiming that funds had mistakenly been transferred to a customer’s account. In such circumstances, customers should first check their account statement and confirm whether the claimed transaction actually occurred instead of relying on the caller’s information. This verification step can help prevent customers from transferring money or providing sensitive information based on a fabricated claim.
Sumair also warned that fraudsters can make scam messages appear genuine by copying the language and formatting commonly used in banking alerts. Such messages may falsely tell customers that an amount has been debited from their account, creating a sense of urgency and encouraging them to respond. Customers were advised to check the source of banking alerts carefully and remember that genuine banking notifications should be received through the bank’s designated SMS short code, which is typically a four-digit number, rather than from an ordinary private mobile number.
Another technique highlighted during the event involved the spoofing of banks’ Universal Access Numbers (UANs). According to Sumair, scammers can manipulate caller identification systems to make their numbers appear similar to an official bank helpline. He stressed that customers should be cautious because a bank’s official helpline is intended to receive calls from customers rather than make unsolicited calls to them. An unexpected call appearing to come from a bank’s UAN should therefore be treated cautiously, particularly if the caller requests confidential account or card information.
The SBP official stressed that protecting customers from fraud requires awareness of common scam methods alongside the security controls implemented by financial institutions. He warned the public against calls claiming that they have won a prize through television programmes such as Jeeto Pakistan or that the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) owes them money. Such claims can be used by fraudsters to persuade people to disclose financial information or send funds. Customers are therefore advised to independently verify unexpected claims before taking any financial action.
The conference also featured discussions on Pakistan’s wider economic and digital development. Shabbar Zaidi, former Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), said that International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programmes do not provide a solution to Pakistan’s underlying economic problems. He said the country’s debt had increased substantially over the past four years, rising from Rs47 trillion in 2022 to Rs85.5 trillion at present. Zaidi also said the accumulation of debt was part of the country’s economic challenge and discussed the possibility that friendly countries in the Middle East could face constraints in continuing bailout support amid the region’s ongoing political crisis.
Rana Shahzad Qaiser, Director General at the Ministry of Information Technology, Government of Sindh, said the provincial government was working on a Sindh Cloud Policy aimed at supporting further digital development, including the growth of digital banking in the province. He also said the ministry had established the Sindh Enterprise Incubation Center in Karachi to support startups. In addition, technical and vocational training initiatives are being provided to help people develop skills and find suitable employment opportunities. The discussions at the summit therefore covered both the security challenges facing digital banking customers and broader efforts to expand technology, entrepreneurship and digital financial services.
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