Check If a Viral Government Notice Is Fake in Pakistan: PKCERT's List and 5 Checks

Short answer: Before you forward a viral notice, check three things: does it appear on the issuing body's own website, is it on PKCERT's Fake Notifications page at pkcert.gov.pk/fake-notifications.asp, and does it ask you to do something urgent. As of 12 October 2026 that PKCERT page lists eight fake notices, the newest from 1 December 2025. A notice missing from the list is not proof that it is real.

A "notice" arrives in a family WhatsApp group on a Sunday night. It carries a logo, a date and a threat of a fine. Within an hour it has been forwarded to forty people. Most of them never ask who issued it.

PKCERT is Pakistan's National Cyber Emergency Response Team. Its Fake Notifications page is described as its official source for publicly identified fake, forged or misleading material. We opened it on 12 October 2026 and read every item.

PKCERT keeps an official list of fake notices

PKCERT's Fake Notifications page lists forged notices and stamps each one as fake. It sits under the Advisories menu on pkcert.gov.pk. It is a short list, and it shows images of the forged papers so you can compare them with what you received.

The list we read on 12 October 2026 has eight entries, each an image of a forged notice:

The pattern is easy to see. Fake notices follow the news: closures, holidays, relief money, security fears and new rules for social media.

The newest fake notice targeted WhatsApp group admins

The most recent entry shows a forged PTA notice dated 28 November 2025. It told group admins on WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook to remove foreign members, and it said the rule would apply from 1 December 2025. PKCERT stamped it fake.

A notice that threatens a group admin with a penalty is built to spread fast, because every admin has a reason to forward it. The stamp on PKCERT's copy also carries a QR code and a link to the Fake Notifications page, so the reader can verify it.

The same PTA name is used in phone scams. A call that claims to be from PTA is covered in the check on fake PTA, NCCIA or bank calls.

A clean result on the list does not make a notice real

The page's newest entry is 1 December 2025, and we found nothing added since. So a notice from this month will not be on it, whether it is fake or real. The list helps you confirm that a known fake is fake. It cannot confirm that a new notice is real.

For that you need the issuing body's own channel. A real notice appears on the department's website or its verified social account, and usually has a file number and a signing officer.

A recent example is the Punjab Higher Education Department's statement about a closure order, covered in the report on the fake notice closing colleges on 12 October. The department itself said it was fake, and that is the standard: the real body says so, on its own page.

Run five checks before you forward

You can do all five in about two minutes. If any one fails, do not forward the notice. Hold it until the issuing body confirms.

1. Find the issuing body's own website or verified account and look for the notice there.
2. Open PKCERT's Fake Notifications page and compare your notice with the images.
3. Look for a file number, a date, an office address and an officer's name. Missing details are a warning sign.
4. Check the language. Official notices rarely have spelling mistakes or odd phrasing.
5. Ask what the notice wants. A link, a payment or a deadline of "today" is a red flag.

The same approach works for tax papers. The steps to test a tax circular or email are in the page on checking whether an FBR circular or notice is real.

Report a fake notice and stop its spread

If you find a fake notice, do not just delete it. Tell the group it is fake and name the official source that says so. Then report it to the body it claims to come from, and report the post to the platform.

If the notice asks for money or personal details, the fraud goes to NCCIA. PKCERT's own incident form says fraud and scams against individuals fall under NCCIA, and the steps are in the guide to reporting a cybercrime.

A fake link that came by SMS is a different case. The steps for a spam or scam text are in the guide to stopping spam SMS and calls with 3627.

Common questions

Where is PKCERT's list of fake notifications?

It is at pkcert.gov.pk/fake-notifications.asp, under Advisories on PKCERT's website. It shows each fake notice as an image stamped fake.

Is a notice real if it is not on the list?

Not necessarily. The newest entry we read was dated 1 December 2025, so a recent notice will not be there. Check the issuing body's own website.

How many fake notices does PKCERT list?

On 12 October 2026 the page showed eight, dated between 8 May 2025 and 1 December 2025.

What should I do if a fake notice is in my family group?

Tell the group it is fake, say where you confirmed it, and ask people to stop forwarding it. Report it to the body named on it.

Is it a crime to forward a fake notice?

We have not read a rule that answers this for forwarding, so we do not state one. Creating a forged notice is a different matter. If you forwarded one by mistake, delete it and correct it in the group.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 12 October 2026, Pakistan time. We opened PKCERT's Fake Notifications page and read the image of its newest entry. We also read PKCERT's incident reporting page. We did not verify any individual forged notice beyond what PKCERT's page shows. PTA and NCCIA websites were not used for the dated entries.