Editor
A latest message circulating on WhatsApp and social media in Pakistan warns folks to keep away from utilizing ATMs and on-line banking for the following few days because of an alleged ransomware assault.
This declare is baseless.
Claim
“ATMs will probably be closed for subsequent two to a few days in all probability, because of ransomware cyber-attack inside Pakistan,” wrote a person on X, previously referred to as Twitter, on August 17, “Don’t do any on-line transactions at this time.”
Similar claims additionally took off right here, right here and right here. While the textual content has circulated on WhatsApp teams as properly.
Fact
There isn’t any proof supporting the declare that ATMs or on-line banking are in danger because of malware in Pakistan.
Noor Ahmad, spokesperson for the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), confirmed to Geo Fact Check that the claims are false. He then referred to a press release from 1LINK (Pvt) Limited, which manages the nation’s main e-payment gateway.
On August 18, 1LINK issued a press launch denouncing the “faux rumours” about ATM closures and on-line banking. The assertion reassured the general public that no cyber risk had been noticed and suggested ignoring such hoaxes.
The full assertion might be learn right here.
Geo Fact Check additionally contacted Bank Alfalah. Madiha Javed Qureshi, the pinnacle of company communications, said that the claims have been “unsubstantiated” and confirmed that Bank Alfalah’s ATMs and on-line banking companies have been working usually.
Additionally, Asif Iqbal Chaudhry, deputy director of the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime wing, dismissed the declare as “false,” noting that such assaults can’t be predicted.
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