Egypt Daily News – In recent hours, social media users have been sharing their painful experiences with the FBC platform, which recently emerged and marketed itself as an exceptional investment opportunity.
However, the reality was shocking, as many users reported that the platform had seized money from more than a million people, with total losses estimated at approximately $6 billion.
I Sold My Home Furniture and Phone to Invest in FBC
One participant in the platform shared his experience on Facebook, saying: “I had just joined FBC a few days ago to pay off monthly installments for phones that had already been stolen. I sold my phone and borrowed money from people to enter the 11,000 EGP level.”
He added that he had suffered an accident, requiring three metal plates and 25 screws to be placed in his leg. The cost of the surgery was 65,000 EGP, of which he had borrowed 45,000 EGP.
“We even sold home furniture to cover the required amount,” he said.
He then questioned: “So is this really a scam?” He explained that he was now facing imprisonment due to his debts and that he would have to undergo another surgery to remove the metal plates and screws. He added, “I can’t even afford my medical treatment.”
FBC, A scam using Ramadan gifts and another deception in the works
Another user shared her experience, saying:
“It all started on Thursday, February 2nd, when people withdrew their usual money. Then, starting Friday, February 7th, the platform increased the number of tasks and raised the earnings for level J3 from 350 to 490 to attract more users. Half of J2 members upgraded to J3.”
She explained that the platform didn’t stop there; it also offered 5,000 Ramadan gifts to J3 subscribers, aiming to get as many people as possible into that level to generate enormous profits for the platform.
“Then, on Thursday, February 13, when people were expecting to withdraw their money, they suddenly announced a holiday for ‘Tree Day’—this was the first clear sign that the end was near,” she explained.
She added that all J3 users were unable to withdraw their money, and those who had upgraded from J2 to J3 also couldn’t withdraw—not even their 3,600 EGP deposit from their previous subscription package. “At that point, J1 and J2 had very few people left because most of them had upgraded to J3 for the Ramadan gifts and increased daily earnings,” she continued.
To regain the trust of its users, the platform then opened withdrawals for J1 and J2 members, along with tripled referral and event rewards over the last ten days.
“In the last two weeks, the platform collected billions and deceived everyone with fake profits distributed among the users,” she said. Now, the platform is asking users to pay a deposit to restore their accounts, a new trick to extract more money.
She warned against paying any additional money, saying, “Consider your money lost and trust in God. Alhamdulillah for everything.”
“Tree day holiday” How did FBC deceive Its clients?
Another person shared his experience, saying:
“At the request of my friends, here are the details of the scam that my family and I fell victim to: My former student, who was also a victim, convinced me to join the company. He had made good money by depositing 3,600 EGP into a wallet specified by FBC, which advertised itself with verified government certificates from the UK and claimed to be working in collaboration with the Egyptian government.
After making the payment, I became a permanent employee and was required to complete daily tasks, such as installing certain apps and games, including popular ones like Facebook and Instagram. In return, I would receive a daily salary of 120 EGP credited to my account on the platform.”
At first, withdrawals were processed daily and transferred to my wallet from numbers registered under individual names, not companies or organizations. Later, withdrawals were limited to once a week based on the deposited amount, which could go up to 200,000 EGP.
Then, they introduced new incentives, like a Ramadan package worth 5,000 EGP and another 5,000 EGP bonus, but only for level three. Many people paid 11,200 EGP to access these rewards, and the money did indeed show up in their accounts.
But on the withdrawal day, the company suddenly announced that its finance staff was on vacation due to “Tree Day” and asked users to wait another week. During this time, they continued to lure people with new promotions, prompting users to deposit even more money.
Then, on the following Thursday, the platform’s page was shut down, and a message appeared saying “Withdrawal failed.” The money was returned to users’ accounts, and the company claimed it had been hacked. It stated that it had contacted an Egyptian emergency cybersecurity agency called “EG-CERT” in the Smart Village for assistance. According to FBC, EG-CERT required users to pay a fee to regain access to their accounts and resume withdrawals.
I contacted EG-CERT myself, and they denied any association with FBC. Meanwhile, the platform removed Egyptian admins from WhatsApp groups and replaced them with a person named Lina Bisht, the recruitment manager, who continued to tempt users into paying the requested fees.
Some people actually paid, but they were still unable to withdraw their money—the scam was ongoing even as I was writing this post. Thousands have already filed complaints against the company, and authorities have arrested one or two people in Samannoud who had set up FBC offices and hosted promotional events.
The scam was well-orchestrated, and nearly a million Egyptians fell victim to it, including army and police officers. The case is currently under investigation. That’s all.”
