How to Report a Fake Social Media Account or Online Stalker in Pakistan Under PECA

Short answer: Using another person's identity details without permission is an offence under section 16 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), with up to three years or a fine up to Rs 5 million. Stalking online is section 24, and spoofing with a fake source is section 26. Report the account to the platform first, then to the cybercrime agency.

Someone opens an account with your name and photos. Friends receive messages asking for money. Or a person keeps contacting you after you said stop. These are separate acts under the law, and each has its own section and its own punishment.

We read the PECA text, as amended in 2023 and 2025, in the Federal Investigation Agency's law compendium on 12 October 2026. We have not tested any complaint channel. The agency's own site refused our automated request, so the channel details below are marked as reported.

Section 16 covers using your identity details without permission

Section 16 punishes anyone who obtains, sells, possesses, transmits or uses another person's identity information without authorisation. The punishment is up to three years in prison, or a fine up to Rs 5 million, or both. It fits a fake account that uses your name, photos or CNIC details.

Section 16(2) gives the victim a second right. A person whose identity information is used may apply to the "Authority" to secure, destroy, block access to or stop the transmission of that information. After the 2025 amendment the Act names this body as the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority.

Section 24 defines cyber stalking in four ways

Cyber stalking means using the internet, email, messages or similar means, with intent to coerce, intimidate or harass, to do one of four things. The punishment is up to three years or a fine up to Rs 1 million, and up to five years if the victim is a minor.

1. Follow a person or keep contacting them to build personal interaction despite a clear sign of disinterest.
2. Monitor the person's internet, email or message use.
3. Watch or spy on the person in a way that causes fear of violence or serious alarm or distress.
4. Take a photograph or video of a person and display or distribute it without consent in a way that harms them.

Section 24(3) lets the victim, or a guardian if the victim is a minor, apply to the Authority for removal or blocking of the material. The Act says the Authority shall pass orders forthwith. Section 24A, added in 2023, covers cyberbullying and lets a minor apply through a guardian for removal.

Section 26 covers a fake website or message that looks real

Section 26 says that whoever dishonestly sets up a website or sends information with a counterfeit source, meant to be believed as authentic, commits spoofing. The punishment is up to three years or a fine up to Rs 500,000, or both. It fits a copy of a bank, company or official page.

Spoofing is the offence behind fake portals and fake messages. It does not need the victim to lose money. The act of pretending to be the real source is the offence.

For a copycat government portal, see how we checked the real HEC attestation portal against the fake one.

How to report, step by step

Save the evidence, report the account on the platform, apply to the Authority for removal if you wish, then complain to the cybercrime agency. The Act sets up the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to investigate offences under it.

1. Take screenshots of the profile, the link, the messages and the dates. Do not edit them.
2. Report the profile through the platform's own report tool. Section 2S of the Act says platforms must keep an easy, visible way to complain about unlawful content.
3. Write a short account of what happened and who you think is behind it.
4. Make a written complaint to the cybercrime agency. Our guide on how to report a cybercrime to the NCCIA covers the channels.
5. If private images are involved, read how to report online blackmail with private photos, because section 21 is treated more seriously.
6. Keep the complaint number and the date, and follow up in writing.

If your own account was hacked and used for fraud, start with recovery. See how to recover a hacked Facebook account and a hacked Instagram account.

What the Act says about arrest, bail and the Authority

Section 43 says most PECA offences, including sections 16, 24 and 26, are non-cognizable, bailable and compoundable. Offences under sections 10, 21 and 26A, among others, are non-bailable and cognizable. A non-cognizable offence normally needs a complaint, not a bare FIR.

The Act says the Authority must be set up by Gazette notification. We could not confirm whether it is running and taking applications. The Act also provides for a Social Media Complaint Council. The older section 26A on false information has its own guide: PECA section 26A and three years.

If the fake post makes a false claim about you, a legal notice may help too. See how to send a defamation notice over a false post.

Common questions

Is making a fake social media account a crime in Pakistan?

It can be. If it uses another person's identity information without authorisation, section 16 applies, with up to three years or a fine up to Rs 5 million.

Can I get a fake profile removed?

Report it on the platform first. The Act also lets you apply to the Authority under section 16(2). We could not confirm the Authority has begun work.

Which section covers online stalking?

Section 24. It carries up to three years or a fine up to Rs 1 million, and up to five years if the victim is a minor.

Can I settle the matter with the other person?

For sections 16, 24 and 26 the Act says the offence is compoundable. That is the law's text. Do not agree to any settlement without advice.

Which agency takes the complaint?

The Act names the NCCIA as the investigation agency. Cybercrime complaints used to go to the FIA cyber crime wing, so confirm the current channel and number before relying on one.

How we verified this

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

We read the PECA text and its 2023 and 2025 amendments as printed in the FIA law compendium on 12 October 2026. The compendium is a compilation, so check the Gazette for the exact current text. We did not confirm that the Authority or the Complaint Council has been constituted, and we have not tested any helpline.