Evidence to Preserve Before Filing a Cyber Crime Complaint
Strong complaints are built on durable digital artefacts. Official portals set their own upload limits; this checklist is practical guidance, not a statutory form schedule.
Core artefacts
Capture screenshots that show URLs, usernames, dates, and full conversation context. Export chats when apps allow. Keep original files rather than only compressed forwardings that strip metadata.
- Transaction IDs, IBAN/wallet numbers, amounts, and timestamps
- Phone numbers, emails, social profile URLs, and group invite links
- Phishing URLs and email headers if available
- Device login alerts and password-reset emails
Preservation mindset
PECA section 31 empowers authorized officers regarding expedited preservation and acquisition of data. Victims should still avoid altering logs and should not commit offences while “investigating” on their own.
Applicable PECA provisions
Links open LawHub’s National corpus text for PECA 2016. Read the full section before relying on a short label.
Evidence checklist
- Folder of dated screenshots (YYYY-MM-DD filenames help)
- Spreadsheet timeline of events
- Copies of bank letters / ticket numbers
- List of witnesses or other victims (if any)
Practical next steps
- Organize files before starting the portal upload.
- Submit via the official NCCIA portal.
- Keep offline backups of your evidence pack.
Related cybercrime topics
Find a cyber crime lawyer
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Sources & provenance
- The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Pakistan Code consolidation) — Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of Pakistan (Pakistan Code). National corpus consolidation_date 2025-02-07; source_id pakistancode-peca-2016.
- Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act No. II of 2025) — Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) / Senate Secretariat gazette publication. Presidential assent and Gazette Extra. publication 29 January 2025; [94(2025)/Ex. Gaz.].
- NCCIA online complaint portal — National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (complaint.nccia.gov.pk). Host complaint.nccia.gov.pk resolves on the public DNS (Cloudflare). Bot fetches may receive HTTP 403; users should open the official domain in a browser and follow current on-site instructions.