KARACHI: A family in Karachi has gone public with allegations that United Bank Limited (UBL) failed to investigate a fraud case in which a senior citizen lost roughly PKR 350,000 to phone scammers posing as bank staff.
What Happened
According to the family, the victim — a senior citizen and UBL account holder, referred to here as Ms. F.T. to protect her privacy — received calls on 11th July 2026 from two numbers — 0343-9585120 and 0347-2668176 — from individuals who identified themselves as UBL staff. The callers convinced her to share a one-time password (OTP), and her funds were withdrawn within minutes.
Case reference details (for UBL, SBP, and Banking Mohtasib verification purposes):
- Account: UBL, account ending …0234
- Branch of complaint: UBL Rashid Minhas Road Branch, Karachi
- Helpline complaint logged via: 111-825-888
- Date of incident: 11 July 2026
- Amount: approx. PKR 350,000
- Supporting documents submitted: CNIC copy, fraudulent SMS screenshots, call logs
Full name and complete account number are on record with UBL, the branch, and the helpline complaint — and can be furnished by the family directly to SBP or the Banking Mohtasib on request.
“The money was gone in minutes,” the family said in a statement shared on social media.
The Bank’s Response
Ms. F.T.’s family says they acted immediately, reporting the incident to:
- UBL’s Rashid Minhas Road Branch, in person
- UBL’s helpline, 111-825-888
They state they submitted supporting documentation including the victim’s CNIC, screenshots of the fraudulent SMS messages, and call logs identifying the numbers used in the scam.
Despite this, the family alleges that UBL closed the case without conducting a proper investigation — providing no beneficiary account details, no transaction trail, and no refund.
Barriers to Filing an FIR
The family also says they were unable to formally register an FIR (First Information Report) with police over the incident. They attribute this to broader difficulties women — particularly a single mother navigating the process alone — often face when dealing with local police stations (“thana culture”) in Pakistan, including reluctance from station staff to register complaints, procedural delays, and an environment that can feel unwelcoming or intimidating to women pursuing cases without male family support.
This is a barrier cited repeatedly by rights groups and legal aid organizations in Pakistan: victims of financial fraud, especially women and senior citizens, frequently report that police stations discourage or slow-walk FIR registration for cybercrime and banking fraud cases, often redirecting complainants to the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing instead — a route that itself requires time, paperwork, and persistence many victims are not equipped to manage alone.
Without an FIR, victims lose a key piece of documentation that banks, the State Bank of Pakistan, and the Banking Mohtasib often expect as part of a formal fraud complaint, effectively narrowing the paths available for recourse.
The Family’s Demands
In their public statement, the family is calling on UBL to:
- Re-open the investigation into the fraudulent transaction
- Provide the full transaction trail, including beneficiary account details
- Refund the approximately PKR 350,000 lost
The post directly tags United Bank Limited (@UnitedBankLtd), the State Bank of Pakistan (@StateBank_Pak), and the Banking Mohtasib Pakistan (@BankingMohtasib), urging all three to take notice of the case.
A Pattern Pakistani Consumers Should Know
OTP-based phone fraud, where scammers impersonate bank staff to extract one-time passwords, remains one of the most common forms of banking fraud in Pakistan. Banks and the State Bank of Pakistan have repeatedly reminded customers:
- No genuine bank employee will ever ask for your OTP, PIN, or full card number over the phone.
- OTPs exist specifically so that even bank staff cannot authorize a transaction on your behalf.
- Any call, SMS, or WhatsApp message requesting an OTP should be treated as fraudulent, regardless of how convincing the caller sounds.
Where This Stands
As of publishing, the family says they have not received a refund or a clear explanation from UBL and intend to continue raising the issue publicly until it is resolved. The Banking Mohtasib Pakistan is the designated ombudsman for unresolved banking complaints in Pakistan and accepts formal complaints from customers once a bank’s own grievance process has been exhausted.
This post is based on statements and documentation shared publicly by the affected family. Pak Brands has not independently verified all details and will update this story if UBL, the State Bank of Pakistan, or the Banking Mohtasib respond.
Source:Original post shared by the family on Facebook
