I Got Scammed In Cairo — And It Wasn’t By An Egyptian
After 10 years of experience traveling abroad, this was a first
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If you’re someone who likes to travel, then you’re likely acquainted with the plethora of Facebook groups dedicated to nomadism and solo travel. The trove of anecdotal experiences you’ll find in them will make your life abroad a million times easier.
Or they might dissuade you from ever leaving your corner of the world.
Posts like this one could be a reason:
Reading something like this might make the idea of traveling abroad a bit scary.
I myself never took them too seriously.
Until recently, that is.
A Bit of Background
Egypt has been my on-again, off-again home base since 2015 when I came to pursue a Master’s program that I never finished and only left me in debt.
I considered myself a pretty bold person, in the sense that I could take care of myself and avoid the pitfalls of big city life in a “third-world” country.
By the time I reached Egypt, I had already traveled to and lived in Mexico, and had spent several months living in Santo Domingo. And this past June would be my third time coming to live in Egypt by myself. All that to say — before this scam, I felt pretty comfortable with the idea that there was “crap” I’d have to face, but that I was prepared to face it.
I was a bit too optimistic, I guess.
The story of how I got scammed
For months I had been planning my return to Egypt, since having returned to the U.S. from there in October 2021.
That time came at the end of June this year.
I’m usually a planner, but I kept putting off finding accommodation in Cairo after I arrived. I figured out I could stay at a friend’s place, a hotel, or an Airbnb — all of which I’d done before. I didn’t want to pick a place to live without seeing it in person.
Luckily, my friend was able to host me for a week. But the looming July 1st deadline was approaching, and I needed a place to stay ASAP.
For some reason, Airbnb prices were (and still are) astronomical and absurd based on my knowledge of rents in Cairo. Therefore, my last resort was Facebook groups with postings about available rooms.
Right away I found two lovely rooms in an area I wanted to live in.
I went to check them out on the same day.
One of the rooms, though lovely, was too small for my liking. The other one seemed too overpriced, and the person renting didn’t inspire confidence.
I was leaning towards the small room, but something in me pushed me to keep looking. That was a big mistake.
The next day, I came across what seemed like a nice-looking apartment on a Facebook group — and the posting was from a foreign woman.
If you’re ever in Egypt trying to rent a room or an apartment, people will advise you not to rent with an Egyptian. Why? Because for some reason, many Egyptians are more fond of foreigners than they are of their compatriots. Don’t ask me why — it’s a very strange thing for me.
So the idea of renting a room from another traveler like me, someone who I imagined understood the fears and stresses of life in a country not one’s own, was comforting for me.
The Nightmare Begins
Picture the apartment.
Three big bedrooms and a living room with a balcony that had a beautiful view of Cairo.
That, and what seemed to be two nice foreign women like me: one from Ukraine and one from Spain.
I was sold.
I took only one day to say yes to the room. And a couple of days later, I got my key — and paid about 200 plus dollars in rent and the same about as a deposit.
Finally, I had a place to call home!
I should have seen the red flags from the very beginning.
What were they?
- The woman I was renting from, from Spain, was going back to her country for summer break and coming back in August. This is normal for school teachers, but the fact that she packed all her stuff and was renting out her room was a bit strange.
- She didn’t ask me right away about bringing the deposit, and in fact, I was the one who asked her when I should bring it to her.
- The other girl living in the apartment barely spoke English, so I would be staying with someone who didn’t even understand much about the apartment and it’s condition (physical and financial).
- When I arrived at the apartment, she had left my room dirty, and the AC wasn’t working — though she promised to arrange for it to be fixed before she left. This is July in Egypt: No AC means despair under the Egyptian summer weather.
Looking back all these things were red flags — but individually, they were realities I almost expected from how I understood life in Cairo.
Suspicion Grows
I didn’t start getting suspicious until about the second week of July. The Ukrainian roommate asked me to message the Spanish woman to ask her how she was doing. Apparently, the former’s Whatsapp messages were not being delivered to the latter.
Up until that point, the limited communication I had with the Spanish renter had been fine.
So I sent her a message on whatsapp asking her how she was — and she replied a couple of hours later with the following:
Hello. I am having an operation next week, and I will not return to Egypt until I feel better. I leave the apartment in your hands.
Strange reply, I thought.
Still, all I am thinking after this reply is that she is irresponsible, and not providing us with the information that we need (when will she come back? what is the landlord’s number? when is the internet due? etc).
I started to realize how f..ed up our situation was when my follow-up reply to her message on WhatsApp only had one check mark.
SHE BLOCKED ME.
The End Result
Long story short, we figured out that:
A. She had left the country with no intention of coming back to this particular apartment. This put us in a difficult situation getting back any deposit from the landlord as the contract was with her — not us.
B. She hadn’t paid the rent with the money my other roommate or I had given her at the beginning of the month. Rent was due a few days later (July 15) though we thought we were paid up until the end of July.
C. She charged us more for the rent than the actual price (a difference of 50 or 60 USD, which doesn’t seem so bad — but in Egyptian pounds this was a big difference).
Though I felt horrible that I had lost over $400 USD in this experience, and angry with this woman for what she did, I was really frustrated and shocked that she did this to the Ukrainian woman.
Ukraine has been at war with Russia since February 2020, a war with no end in sight. This Ukrainian woman who was living in this flat doesn’t have a job or anyone to help her besides one or two acquaintances. And for this woman to have done this to her — she is a heartless, miserable thief with no consciousness.
Sometimes the lessons are worth the losses
We are still dealing with the consequences of this woman’s actions. And little by little, my anger towards her is turning into resignation.
It has also helped to search on reddit and see that other people have been scammed as well. It makes one feel less lonely.
Looking back, I am grateful that this is the worst thing that has happened to meanwhile living outside of the U.S. And honestly, it’s to be expected. I’m surprised something similar hasn’t occurred before.
The important thing to take away from this are the lessons.
If you decide to move abroad, plan ahead of time. Leaving things like accommodation until the last moment will put you in a difficult situation where your choices are limited. This will make it easier to ignore the red flags in many situations.
Also, don’t think that just because someone is from your same nationality, speaks your same language, or is in the same situation as you, that you can trust them.
There are good and bad people in any country and from any nationality, so a filter of suspicion and distrust should always be placed in front of any new person you encounter
If you can deal directly with a landlord, this will be a bit safer. The legal avenue is more easily available to you if you have a contract.
Most importantly, TRUST YOUR GUT.
There were a couple of times before I found out the extent of the scam, when I thought to myself: something is off. Had I listened to that sooner, things would be a bit smoother.
Do you have a similar story to this during your time abroad? Let me know in the comments!
