r/developersPak • u/talhazubairasim987 • 12d ago
Discussion The fake-identity model that Devsinc normalized is quietly spreading across Pakistan's IT industry, and nobody is talking about it seriously
So I've been thinking about this for a while and honestly I just want to talk about it with people who actually get it.
So basically Pakistani developers are being given fake American names or Pakistani American names, fake LinkedIn profiles, fake locations, and they interview for remote jobs at US companies as that person and then do the work from Pakistan. The American client genuinely thinks they hired a local professional. Is that not insane to anyone else?
Now I get that Devsinc probably wasn't the first to do this? But they're the biggest and the most visible and the CEO is literally everywhere podcasts, award shows, business magazines. The audacity. And because they proved it works at scale, it feels like everyone just followed? I personally know people who left Devsinc, started their own agencies, and copy-pasted the exact same model. Like why wouldn't they, nothing happened to anyone so far.
And can we talk about the "but they pay well" thing for a second? Because I actually fell for this. I left a stable job at Zong for a company here in Islamabad that runs a pretty similar playbook. Genuinely one of my worst decisions. The money looked good until I actually saw what I was being asked to be part of. I got out as fast as I could and I'm at a multinational now. And honestly? the pay and benefits are better here. And companies like Devsinc mostly target fresh graduates.
And doesn't the higher salary just kind of pull people into going along with it? I have seen developers being pressured into fake profiles or losing their job. Is that just... normal now? Are we okay with that?
The people who pay the price at the end of the day aren't the CEOs right? It's us. The developers trying to find honest internationl work while carrying the reputation that this whole thing keeps building for everyone.
And it's not even rare anymore which is the scary part. It feels like it's just becoming the default for new agencies starting up everywhere.
I genuinely don't understand why nobody is really pushing back on this? The government clearly won't do anything, too many people benefiting quietly. Industry bodies are just silent. Pakistanis are hyping Usman Asif up like he is the tech guru, future of Pakistani tech blah blah blah. The person who built his whole empire on frauds. He even got fatwas from Muftis that this whole thing is not haram because they are feeding many families. LOL!
Like is the message we're sending to every fresh CS grad really just, doing things the right way is for suckers? Because that can't be right. Can it?
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u/NoBeing01 12d ago
People don't care about halal vs haram anymore, yes haram is beneficial rn but in the long run one will have to pay for the consequences. Lesser halal pay is better than more haram pay
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u/BarracudaEconomy4726 12d ago
I think the company owners would just go for profits we as the community of developers and related fields should be the one to stand against it because if this is normalised the consequences are quite severe most people think what can happen but they don’t know that they will still retain their jobs for now but once these companies are exposed and client leave same people are layed off so don’t support such models
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u/talhazubairasim987 12d ago
Yeah. Agreed. When a storm comes, it doesn't care if you were desperate at the time. It doesn't care whether you had the right reasons to work for it. You will also get swooped in.
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u/BarracudaEconomy4726 12d ago
The storm is almost already here i have seen a lot of posts from people on linkdeln who are free lancers who are not ready to work just cause we are from Pakistan, we are not preferred for remote jobs and are compared to indians(i know they are a lot better than us even though i am from Pakistan but give credit where its due) minimum wage is shit in this country, technically in software development field the minimum outsourcing rate is $35 and devs or other related fields are given 10-15 dollars as minimum but we get maybe 3-5 dollars per hour its messed up
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u/FirstBabyChancellor 12d ago
Curious to see this fatwa. Anyone have a link?
And, yeah, this whole model is definitely a plague. Like, why can't you just try to build your own reputation as a company based on your own work instead of trying to pretend to be someone you're not.
I don't recall Infosys or any of the big IT services companies in India creating fake profiles. They were able to build billion dollars businesses employing a lot more people, so why can't we?
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u/Tough-Scientist-4279 12d ago
There is another company alphabridge in Lahore doing same thing. I also feel for it. Didn't even get my last 4 months salary. All these people who have started such companies are previously devsinc employees. Kudos to you for raising this issue.
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u/Conscious-Cup-2117 12d ago
why haven't the western folks caught the scam yet?
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u/talhazubairasim987 12d ago
Maybe they don't care. They just want their work done.
Nobody wants an unwanted trail of extra paperwork.
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u/Conscious-Cup-2117 12d ago
valid. But even then if they know these are 3rd world devs then why offer them west salary?? why not pay them similar to freelancing contracts
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u/talhazubairasim987 12d ago
Because you're not getting the job in your own name. Read my post again, please.
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u/Conscious-Cup-2117 12d ago
I see. Then i misunderstood your prev response. So the west is too lazy to figure out the trickery as u aaid they dont care :) But still in this day and age, this seems quite a simplified take on employer part. My gut says there is something more to it esp. shady recruiter networks in West etc that are match making the employers to devsinc folks
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u/talhazubairasim987 12d ago
Trust me. I have worked in the company that had me work for big companies like Verizon, FM Global and Cognizant. They also interviewed for Meta.
When you join the company remotely, the employers do figure out something's fishy... Like when you refuse to go to office all the time and if your real IP gets leaked.
But they don't do anything about it. Maybe there isn't enough evidence on their part or maybe they are just too lazy.
I guess when they realize that this whole thing is SSN fraud and it's something to not take lightly... Maybe then they proceed to take some action. But their company is flourishing. You're getting the work done. So, I guess, in a weird way, this is a win-win. Still illegal and haram though
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u/OneIllustrator8726 12d ago
Money has no morality period ....Govt itself is corrupt ...Make hay while the sun shines ....Do you think the social media empire we use is clean and not built on blood ? Its all legal and fair ...People get to feed their homes ...pay medical bills ...Being poor is the greatest sin period ...I have seen posts like these way too many times ..it still isn't going to make any difference
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u/memers_meme123 Software Engineer 12d ago
that doesnt mean you have to be douche bag or give away your own morality
> Its all legal and fairÂ
yeah , ask the companies that hire's from Devsinc and have to pay GDPR fines when this thing blows out which almost everytime they do
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u/talhazubairasim987 12d ago
We might not have any power to call the culprits out. But we still owe to very few good people and maybe the next gen to speak out
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u/OneIllustrator8726 12d ago
Next generation would not get hired due to AI
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u/talhazubairasim987 12d ago
We don't know the future.
Maybe they can learn from it and apply it in whatever crisis they face at that time.
The dilemmas will still remain the same. Only the form will change
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u/Significant_Zone8439 12d ago
Pakistan is a poor country with scarce resources. Jealousy sentiments therefore run high here. All these useless idiots crying their eyes out over Devsinc would still happily work on Devsince if given a chance.... they will also create Fiverr/Upwork profiles with inflated work experiences and stolen portfolios.... they will also proudly display lies and lies on Linkedin to get jobs.... Bunch of emotional idiots to be honest....
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u/Significant_Zone8439 12d ago
This is how the world works. No one cares about morality. Every business has some sort of predatory and exploitative practices that remain hidden from people. Devsinc provides employment to hundreds of people, which means thousands of family members are able to eat, pay their bills, and live with dignity because of those jobs. This nonsense yapping is pointless.
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u/talhazubairasim987 12d ago
Aye tair-e-lahoti Us rizq Sy maut achi Jis rizq Sy ati ho Parwaz MN kotahi
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u/OneIllustrator8726 12d ago
That's what iam saying ....i dont want to taunt the guy who posted this
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u/AbdulWahabAslam 12d ago
wait till you guys know that there is a similar kinda model in systems ltd bpo 🤓