The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) has issued an urgent nationwide warning about a surge in sophisticated scams in which fraudsters impersonate HEC officials to steal sensitive personal and financial information.
In a statement, HEC shared a crucial cybersecurity advisory. The commission explicitly stated that its officials never contact individuals to request payment attestations, one-time passwords (OTPs), online banking credentials, or sensitive financial information.
The educational body emphasised that all legitimate communication occurs through its official website (https://hec.gov.pk).
According to the cybersecurity alert, scammers have been employing increasingly sophisticated tactics. These include creating convincing but fake HEC portals designed to harvest login credentials, making fraudulent calls while spoofing official HEC phone numbers, and sending phishing emails that appear to originate from legitimate HEC email addresses. The commission warned that these scams often target students applying for scholarships, faculty members, and education professionals.
HEC has outlined several protective measures for the public to combat this growing threat. Citizens should verify website authenticity before entering personal information, cross-check any suspicious communication directly with HEC through official channels, and immediately report fraudulent activity. The commission has directed victims to contact the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) cybercrime helpline and the National Response Centre for Cyber Crime (NR3C) to file formal complaints.
The HEC’s warning aligns with broader cybersecurity recommendations from international education bodies and Pakistan’s national digital security framework. With digital fraud cases rising across South Asia, this alert serves as a timely warning and an important resource for Pakistan’s students, academics, and education administrators.
The commission has pledged to work closely with law enforcement agencies to track down and prosecute the perpetrators behind these scams.
