ALBAWABA Salma El-Ghazouli, an Egyptian blogger, found herself at controversy across social media platforms when accusations arose of her orchestrating what is deemed as Egypt's largest online scam operation to date.
The allegations against El-Ghazouli were grave: she was accused of defrauding approximately 2,000 victims, predominantly women and girls involved in the clothing trade, particularly with the global brand "Shein," and siphoning off roughly one billion Egyptian pounds from them.
Operating as a twenty-something Egyptian woman, El-Ghazouli reportedly kickstarted the scam by leveraging her social media presence.
Promising discounted prices on "Shein" merchandise, she required payments to be made through channels like "InstaPay," steering clear of direct bank transactions.
El-Ghazouli resorted to purchasing social media accounts with substantial follower counts and utilized endorsements from Egyptian celebrities to peddle her scheme.
One victim, taking to Facebook, branded El-Ghazouli and her associates as "the largest criminal gang in Egypt's history.
Legal representative Nahla El-Gendy, speaking on behalf of the victims, disclosed that El-Ghazouli, along with her brother and other accomplices, were apprehended on charges of fraud. Meanwhile, Khuloud El-Sawy, the alleged collaborator, absconded from the country.
El-Gendy also revealed that a fraction of the victims, numbering at 13 out of 1,000, sought her counsel in the legal proceedings.
The Public Funds Prosecution, recognizing the gravity of the situation, ordered the temporary detention of El-Ghazouli and her brother, Mohamed, pending further investigation. Despite the mounting evidence, both denied their involvement in the scam.
