The scams people report most, and how to avoid each one
1. Calls, texts and links from fake bank or Central Bank staff asking for OTPs and card details
This is the scam behind the largest official figures. The Interior Ministry's technical teams tracked and foiled more than 800 banking and electronic fraud attempts in which the aim was to get citizens' card details [2]. The CBE's awareness page says fraudsters phone people while posing as employees of the Central Bank or another authority, send text messages promising prizes or profits with a link or a program to install, and use these tricks to collect card numbers, account details and passwords; it stresses that banks never ask customers to update their data by phone [3]. In August 2026 the CBE and the banks launched the "Together Against Fraud" campaign, warning customers not to answer calls that ask for sensitive information or to click links in texts and emails [4], and it repeated that sharing a one-time password (OTP) lets fraudsters into your account and that banks and official bodies never ask for these codes, whatever the reason [5]. The CBE Governor said prevention measures stopped EGP 4 billion of transactions in 2025, and EGP 116.8 million was recovered for victims [6].[3][4][5][2][6][1][7]
Reported in: Phone calls, SMS, WhatsApp and social media pages, nationwide
How it works
A caller says he is from your bank or the Central Bank: your card is blocked, a suspicious transaction must be cancelled, or your data must be updated. You are asked for the card number, the PIN or the code that has just arrived by SMS, or sent a link to a fake page. With the code the fraudster completes a payment or transfer in your name.
Red flags
- Anyone asking for an OTP, PIN, CVV or password, even if he says he works for your bank
- A caller claiming to be from the Central Bank or a "sovereign" authority
- A text promising a prize or profit with a link or an app to download
- Pressure to act now to "cancel" a transaction or "protect" your account
How to protect yourself
- Never share an OTP, PIN, CVV or card number by phone or message; banks never ask for them
- Hang up and call your bank on the number on your card or in its official app
- Keep your mobile number up to date with your bank so it can alert you to unusual transactions, as the CBE advises
- Buy online only on secure sites and check your balance regularly
If it happened to you
- Call your bank at once and ask it to block the card or account and stop the transfer
- Report to the Interior Ministry's information crimes hotline 108, which works around the clock
- Keep screenshots, numbers, times and amounts
- If the bank does not resolve your complaint within 15 business days, escalate it to the CBE
Where to report: Your bank first; then the Interior Ministry on 108 or in person at the information crimes department; the CBE's online complaint form if the bank does not resolve it.
2. Online blackmail, hacked accounts and fake profiles
Blackmail and threats top the Interior Ministry's arrest figures: officers of the computer crimes department identified and arrested about 2,500 suspects in blackmail and defamation cases, most of them targeting women and girls through social media, and the ministry says it also helps victims recover and secure hacked accounts [2]. NTRA and the national computer emergency response team EG-CERT warned in December 2025 about hacking attempts that use malicious links and messages that look as if they come from trusted bodies, and advised keeping phones and apps updated and adding a second verification code to important accounts [22].[2][22][1]
Reported in: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other social media, nationwide
How it works
A stranger, or a hacked account of someone you know, gains your trust, gets private photos or a recorded video call, or takes over your account through a link or a code. Then come threats to publish the material unless you pay, or messages to your contacts asking for money in your name.
Red flags
- A new contact who quickly asks for private photos or a video call
- A link or a code you did not ask for, even from a friend's account
- A threat to publish images unless you pay
- A friend asking for money urgently by message and avoiding a call
How to protect yourself
- Turn on two-step verification on your accounts and keep the phone and apps updated, as NTRA advises
- Do not open links or attachments from unknown senders
- Do not share private images with people you have not met
- Before sending money to a friend, call them on a number you know
If it happened to you
- Do not pay and do not delete the messages: keep screenshots, links and account names
- Report at once to the Interior Ministry's hotline 108, its information crimes department or its website
- Recover the account through the platform and warn your contacts
Where to report: The Interior Ministry: hotline 108, the department's telephone lines, its website, or in person.
3. Fake investment platforms, "guaranteed" returns, gold and crypto schemes
The FRA says it has spotted online platforms and adverts inviting people to invest and to hand over money for investment, and platforms offering finance, without a licence; under Law No. 146 of 1988 only joint-stock companies registered with the FRA may take money from the public to invest it, and it warns that victims of unlicensed entities have no regulator to protect their rights [8], [9]. It reports such invitations from individuals, companies, factories and even agricultural land owners promising "guaranteed" profits, says it has approved only three funds that hold units in metals such as gold, and urges people not to follow invitations to invest in crypto currencies [8], [9]. It has warned since 2021 that it has not licensed virtual currencies and that people who deal in them risk losing everything [11]. The Interior Ministry reported in December 2025 that it dismantled a network in Dokki, Giza, that sold gold and precious stones above their value with promises of rising weekly returns and a pyramid system of recruiting members [13], and in February 2025 it arrested people behind an online "tasks" platform that paid early users with new users' money and moved the funds through wallets registered on fake identities [14].[8][9][10][11][13][14][12]
Reported in: Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp groups, apps and websites, and offices used to meet victims
How it works
You are offered a share in a trading platform, a project, a farm or gold with a fixed weekly or monthly return. The first payments arrive, you are pushed to invest more and recruit relatives, and then withdrawals stop and the page or office disappears.
Red flags
- A "guaranteed" or fixed return, or money that grows every week
- Commissions for bringing in new members
- An entity you cannot find on the FRA's list of licensed entities
- Payment to a mobile wallet or personal account
How to protect yourself
- Check any company or platform on the FRA's licence list before paying
- Remember that only licensed joint-stock companies may take money from the public to invest it
- Be wary of gold, farm and property "investments" sold with fixed returns
- Do not promote a scheme to others; the FRA says those who help promote unlicensed offers can be held to account
If it happened to you
- Stop paying and keep every receipt, chat and transfer record
- Report the offer to the FRA at whistleblowing@fra.gov.eg
- Report the fraud to the Interior Ministry on 108 or at the nearest police station
Where to report: The FRA: whistleblowing@fra.gov.eg, hotline 19669; the Interior Ministry for the fraud itself.
4. Fake jobs abroad, including Gulf jobs, and unlicensed recruiters
In June 2026 the Ministry of Labour warned again about individuals, pages and unlicensed companies that exploit young people's wish to work abroad with fake adverts asking for money to finish job or travel procedures [15], [16]. It says it is the only authority that supervises the movement of Egyptian workers abroad, that applications for its job offers abroad are made on its official website, that they are free and that it works with no intermediaries; to check an offer or a recruitment company's licence, go to its General Directorate of Employment at 3 Youssef Abbas Street, Nasr City, Cairo, or to your governorate's labour directorate [15], [16]. Under Labour Law No. 14 of 2025, a licensed private agency may take at most 1% of the worker's first-year wage as administrative costs and nothing else [17]. Our guide to working in the Gulf from Egypt explains contract attestation and licensed recruitment companies in full.[15][16][17][18][19]
Reported in: Facebook and WhatsApp pages, individual "agents" and unlicensed offices, nationwide
How it works
A page or person offers a well-paid job in the Gulf or Europe, sometimes claiming to run a government agreement. You pay for the visa, the file or the ticket and hand over your passport. The job never comes, or you travel on a visit visa to a job that does not exist.
Red flags
- A fee for a job the ministry offers for free
- A page claiming to run the ministry's agreements with other countries
- A recruiter who cannot show a ministry licence
- A charge above 1% of your first year's wage, or under names like "file fee"
How to protect yourself
- Apply for ministry job offers only on the ministry's official website
- Check a company's licence with the ministry in Nasr City or your labour directorate before paying
- Pay only against a receipt and never hand over your passport to an intermediary
- Get your contract attested by the ministry before you travel
If it happened to you
- Call the Ministry of Labour hotline 19468
- Report the advert or page to the ministry, which says it acts with the security bodies
- Report the fraud to the police or the Interior Ministry with receipts and chats
Where to report: The Ministry of Labour: hotline 19468, the General Directorate of Employment in Nasr City, or your governorate's labour directorate; abroad, the Egyptian labour office.
5. Calls to "update your mobile line" and SIM cards registered in your name
In August 2026 NTRA renewed its warning not to respond to calls claiming that your mobile line data must be updated or your registration completed, and told people not to give personal details over the phone [21]. The warning came as NTRA acted on complaints about lines registered in citizens' names without their knowledge: it referred the four mobile operators to the Public Prosecution over those complaints, told them to send messages to holders of old lines whose data does not match the real user, and required them to offer biometric checks in their apps so users can see which lines are registered in their name [21]. Lines in other people's names matter because fraudsters use them: the Interior Ministry found more than a thousand SIM cards with the task-platform suspects in 2025 [14].[21][20][14]
Reported in: Phone calls and SMS, nationwide
How it works
A caller says he is from your mobile operator or NTRA and that your line will be cut unless you update your data. He asks for your national ID number, a photo of your ID card or a code, then uses them to register lines or wallets in your name.
Red flags
- A call saying your line will be stopped unless you update your data by phone
- A request for a photo of your national ID card
- A request to read out a code you received by SMS
How to protect yourself
- Update line data only at your operator's official branches, as NTRA says
- Trust only official messages from your operator, not the caller's name on the screen
- Use your operator's app to check which lines are registered in your name
If it happened to you
- Contact your operator to stop any line or wallet you did not open
- Report the call or message to NTRA on 155 or through its online form or the My NTRA app
- If money or data was taken, report to the Interior Ministry on 108
Where to report: NTRA: hotline 155, online fraud-report form, My NTRA app; the Interior Ministry on 108.
6. Fake prizes, fake bank pages and requests to receive money for strangers
The CBE warns against anonymous texts that ask you to open a link or download a program to claim a prize or profit, and tells customers not to transfer or accept money in their accounts from unknown or untrusted parties [3]. Mobile wallets are used widely: NTRA counted 46.3 million wallets in the second quarter of 2025, and it ordered the operators to apply precautionary controls on wallets to limit fraud [23]. Fraud networks move money through wallets and lines registered on other people's details, which is why the Interior Ministry's cases often list seized SIM cards and wallets [14].[3][23][14]
Reported in: SMS, Facebook pages carrying bank names, and wallet transfers, nationwide
How it works
You are told you won a prize or a giveaway and must pay a small fee or enter your card details on a page that looks like your bank's. Or someone asks you to receive money in your account or wallet and pass it on for a commission, which makes you part of the chain.
Red flags
- A prize from a draw you never entered
- A page with a bank's name that asks for card details or an OTP
- An offer to earn money by receiving and forwarding transfers
How to protect yourself
- Delete prize messages with links and do not forward them, as the CBE advises
- Do not accept transfers from strangers or lend your account, wallet or SIM
- Reach your bank only through its official app, website or number on your card
If it happened to you
- Call your bank or wallet provider at once
- Report to the Interior Ministry on 108 with links and transfer details
- Report the fake page to the platform
Where to report: Your bank or wallet provider; the Interior Ministry on 108.
City by city
Cairo and Giza
Several of the offices you report to are here. The Interior Ministry's computer and information network crimes department can be visited at the ministry's headquarters in the Fifth Settlement, New Cairo [2], and the Ministry of Labour's General Directorate of Employment and its department for recruitment companies are at the ministry's former headquarters, 3 Youssef Abbas Street, Nasr City, where you can check a job offer or a company's licence [15], [16]. Two published cases come from the capital area: the gold investment network run from Dokki in Giza, which also used a fake company office to meet victims [13], and the online tasks platform whose suspects set up a front company in Cairo [14].[2][13][14][15][1]
- A smart office does not prove a licence: check the company with the FRA or the Ministry of Labour first
- You can take a written complaint to the Interior Ministry's department in person, or to any police station
Where to report: The Interior Ministry on 108 or in person; the police emergency number 122.
Alexandria, the Delta and Upper Egypt
Outside Cairo the same channels apply, and two of them are local. Every governorate has a labour directorate where you can check an offer of work abroad before paying, and the ministry lists their addresses and phone numbers [15], [18]. The FRA says it received enquiries from citizens in different governorates after its 2025 warnings, and it names invitations from factories and agricultural land owners that promise "guaranteed" profits among the offers it warns about [9], [10]. The police emergency number 122 and the information crimes hotline 108 work nationwide [1].[18][15][9][10][1]
- Ask your governorate's labour directorate about any job abroad before handing over money or a passport
- Treat a farm, factory or land "investment" with fixed returns as unlicensed until the FRA confirms otherwise
Where to report: The labour directorate of your governorate; the Interior Ministry on 108; the police on 122.
Egyptians working in the Gulf
The Ministry of Labour runs labour representation offices at Egyptian missions in four Gulf countries; they follow up the situation of Egyptian workers and can help with a complaint against an employer or a recruiter [18]. The contacts below are those the ministry published, checked on 21 October 2026. For Oman and Bahrain the list has no labour office, so contact the Egyptian embassy.[18]
- UAE, Abu Dhabi: Egyptian Embassy building, 77 Embassies Street; +971 50 674 9294; laborofficeuae@gmail.com
- Saudi Arabia, Riyadh: Abdullah bin Huthafa Al-Sahmi Street, Diplomatic Quarter; +966 54 319 1870; Riyadh_Labour20@Yahoo.com
- Saudi Arabia, Jeddah: at the Egyptian Consulate General, Mohammed Iqbal Street, Al-Rawdah 2; +966 55 698 4079; labour.office.jeddah@gmail.com
- Qatar, Doha: at the Egyptian Embassy, Al Dafna; +974 7195 5263; qateroffice@Yahoo.com
- Kuwait: Al-Salam area, Block 5; KuwaitLabrep4@Gmail.com
Where to report: The Egyptian labour office or embassy, and the host country's labour ministry (below).
Where to report a scam in Egypt
Channels named on official Egyptian pages or in official statements reported by the press. If you are in danger, call 122.
| Situation | Channel | Source |
|---|---|---|
| You are in danger or a crime is happening now | Police emergency 122 | Ministry of Interior |
| Money taken from your bank account or card | Your bank at once to block the card or account; then the Interior Ministry's information crimes hotline 108 | CBE; Ministry of Interior |
| Your bank does not resolve your complaint | After the bank's 15 business days, the CBE's online complaint form, with the bank's complaint reference number | Central Bank of Egypt |
| Online fraud, a hacked account or blackmail | Hotline 108 (24 hours); lines 27928484, 27926071 and 27921490; the ministry's website; or in person at the information crimes department, Interior Ministry headquarters, Fifth Settlement | Ministry of Interior; Al-Watan |
| An unlicensed investment, financing or crypto offer | FRA: whistleblowing@fra.gov.eg; hotline 19669; complaints portal for licensed companies | Financial Regulatory Authority |
| A fake job abroad or an unlicensed recruiter | Ministry of Labour hotline 19468; General Directorate of Employment, 3 Youssef Abbas Street, Nasr City; your governorate's labour directorate | Ministry of Labour |
| A fraud call or SMS, or a line registered in your name | Your operator; NTRA hotline 155, online report form or the My NTRA app | NTRA |
| An Egyptian worker in the Gulf who needs help | The Egyptian labour office or embassy, and the host country's labour ministry (below) | Ministry of Labour |
Call your bank first, within minutes, with transaction details, times and screenshots; then report. Banks and official bodies never ask for an OTP, so treat anyone who does, or who offers to recover your money for a fee, as part of the scam.
Six habits that stop most of these scams
The warnings from the Interior Ministry, the CBE, the FRA, NTRA and the Ministry of Labour come down to a few rules.
- Never share an OTP, PIN, CVV, password or verification code with anyone, whoever they say they are
- Hang up and call your bank on the number on your card or in its official app
- Update your mobile line only at your operator's branch, never by phone
- Never pay to get a job, a prize or a "guaranteed" return
- Check investment offers with the FRA and jobs abroad with the Ministry of Labour before paying
- Never lend your bank account, wallet, card or SIM to anyone
If you have lost money: the first hour
Speed matters, because the money is moved on quickly through wallets and other accounts.
- Call your bank's or wallet provider's hotline and ask it to block the card, account or wallet and the transfer
- Report to the Interior Ministry on 108 with transaction details, amounts, times and the fraudster's numbers
- Keep screenshots, links, chats and receipts
- Do not pay anyone who promises to recover the money
If the scam happened while you were working in the Gulf
Many of our readers are Egyptians working in the Gulf. If you were cheated there, by an employer, an agent or an online fraudster, you can complain to the labour ministry and police of the country where you work, not only in Egypt; our scam guides for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain, linked below, list their channels in full, and our guide to working in the Gulf from Egypt covers contracts and recruitment companies. The Egyptian labour offices listed above can help you prepare and follow up a complaint. If the agent who sent you is in Egypt, or the money went to an Egyptian account or wallet, the Egyptian channels above also apply.
- UAE: the MOHRE app or website, or the Labour Claims and Advisory Centre on toll-free 80084; u.ae lists the signs of labour and visa fraud [25], [26], [24]
- Saudi Arabia: HRSD's amicable settlement service through Qiwa or the unified number 19911; domestic workers through Musaned [27], [28]
- Qatar: the Ministry of Labour's Unified Complaints and Disputes Platform; 16505 for fraud or requests for unofficial payments [29], [30], [31], [32]
- Oman: the Ministry of Labour's free labour complaints e-service or 80077000 [33]
- Kuwait: the Public Authority for Manpower's labour complaint service, which is separate from reporting a violation [34], [35]
- Bahrain: Ministry of Labour complaints on 17873637 or 17873919; for exploitation or trafficking, the LMRA hotline 995 [36], [37]
- In Egypt: the Ministry of Labour on 19468 for the recruiter who sent you, the Interior Ministry on 108 for online fraud, and your Egyptian bank [19], [1], [7]
Before you pay anyone: three checks
Most of the fraud on this page asks you to pay first. Three checks cut the risk.
- An investment, financing or savings offer: is the company on the FRA's list of licensed entities?
- A job abroad: is it on the Ministry of Labour's website, or is the recruiter licensed by the ministry, and is the fee no more than 1% of your first year's wage?
- A caller from a bank, the Central Bank or a phone company: did you hang up and call back on the official number before doing anything?