Cyber scammers target Grand Egyptian Museum visitors
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) has issued an urgent warning to prospective global and local visitors regarding a sophisticated wave of cyber scams capitalizing on the museum’s monumental appeal.
Ahmed Ghoneim, the CEO of the Grand Egyptian Museum, revealed that specialized teams are continuously tracking dozens of fraudulent websites and fake social media pages. These unauthorized platforms lure unsuspected tourists by offering fake “immediate bookings” or heavily discounted admission tickets—tactics designed to steal credit card details and personal data.
A continuous digital battle
The museum’s internal monitoring has triggered an aggressive legal and digital counter-response. Working closely with cyber-crime authorities, the museum has successfully dismantled a massive network of these digital traps.
“We have successfully shut down more than 50 fraudulent websites operating both inside and outside of Egypt,” Ghoneim stated, acknowledging the persistent nature of the threat. “While we are continuously tracking these attempts, they unfortunately keep resurfacing.”
To combat this relentless cycle, Ghoneim emphasized a simple, foolproof rule for travelers: the only authorized, safe gateway to secure admission is the museum’s singular official website.
Protecting a global icon
The surge in cyber scamming directly correlates with the sheer global anticipation surrounding the museum. Sprawling across more than 500,000 square meters near the Giza Pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum stands as one of the largest archaeological institutions on Earth.
It houses an unparalleled collection of over 100,000 artifacts, including 50,000 items displayed to the public for the very first time—headlined by the complete, legendary treasure trove of King Tutankhamun.
To safeguard this legacy and its visitors, the museum recently launched an upgraded, highly secure electronic booking platform. This digital overhaul is part of a broader strategy to unify the museum’s digital identity, streamlining the user experience while hardening defenses against external manipulation.
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has echoed these concerns, issuing parallel directives warning the public against unauthorized third-party applications. Authorities specifically flagged look-alike applications on platforms like the Google Play Store that mimic the official museum branding and URLs to deceive users.
As peak travel seasons approach, the GEM executive leadership is renewing its call for extreme vigilance, urging the public to never disclose sensitive banking information or personal credentials to any platform outside the museum’s verified, official digital domain.
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المصدر: Egypt Independent