The ministry’s action came after social media users widely circulated warnings in recent days following incidents in which citizens had large sums of money stolen from their bank accounts via messages appearing to come from InstaPay, using deceptive messages known as “Flash SMS.”
These incidents sparked shock due to the advanced hacking methods used, which allow perpetrators to remotely take control of victims’ phones as soon as they open the application and enter their details, freezing their screens, and enabling the withdrawal to be completed within minutes.
According to the ministry’s statement, investigations revealed that international criminal elements based in an Asian country were operating a fake electronic application used to defraud citizens and deceive them into believing the application could be used to watch encrypted TV channels for free.
Once activated, the app hacked their phones and took control of them, then sent text messages claiming that a sum of money had been withdrawn from their accounts on InstaPay.
When the victims accessed InstaPay to check the amount withdrawn by entering the secret PIN code, all funds in the account were drained and transferred to electronic wallets activated by three individuals inside the country.
These individuals then converted the money into encrypted digital currencies and sent it to the international criminal elements managing the application, the ministry said.
After completing the necessary legal procedures, authorities arrested the criminal network members inside the country.
In their possession were 35 mobile phones, 32 SIM cards-16 of which were linked to electronic wallets-two laptops, eight bank cards, five accounts on applications used for illicit digital currency trading, sums of cash, seven kilograms of silver, and nearly one kilogram of gold.
The total value of the seized items is estimated at around EGP 8 million, the ministry said in the statement, affirming that legal measures have been taken.
The ministry further warned citizens against accessing unknown and unverified links to avoid their phones being hacked and their money stolen.
The ministry’s action comes as part of the state’s intensive efforts to combat online fraud crimes through coordinated security operations, advanced digital investigations, and public awareness campaigns.
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