Three Arrested Over AI-Forged Payment Receipts Used to Cheat Hurghada Shops

Three men have been arrested over a scheme that used artificial-intelligence software to forge electronic payment confirmations and take goods from shops in Hurghada without paying, according to Shorouk News and Veto Gate.

The case began with a video circulated on social media showing a customer picking out goods at a shop in Hurghada, then showing the assistant what appeared to be a transfer confirmation on a mobile payment app. The money never reached the shop's account. Veto Gate reported the incident took place on 17 July 2026 at a shop in the area covered by Hurghada's first police station.

Interior Ministry investigators identified three suspects living in the Tenth of Ramadan district of Sharqia governorate and arrested them there, Shorouk News reported.

The three confessed to forming a gang that specialised in defrauding shop owners by generating fake transfer notifications and screenshots with AI programs in order to walk out with merchandise they had not paid for, both outlets reported.

They also admitted to two further incidents carried out the same way. All the goods taken were recovered, and legal measures were taken against the three, according to Shorouk News. The Public Prosecution is handling the investigation.

Neither report gave the value of the goods involved, named the shops, or said whether a trial date has been set.