Following a surge in complaints about mobile phone numbers registered in citizens' names without their knowledge, Egypt's national communications regulatory authority has referred four mobile operators to the public prosecutor for investigation. The national communications regulatory authority, which operates under the ministry of communications and information technology, received more than 3,000 complaints in two days and over 100,000 inquiries through its call centre about numbers registered in citizens' names despite them not owning them, a spokesman for the authority said.
The authority, which falls under the ministry of communications and information technology, made the referral after examining complaints and completing "evidence, indications, and documentation" related to them, according to the authority's statement. The public prosecutor will conduct an investigation and determine responsibility.
The issue became more concerning after the case of a 19-year-old youth who was convicted in a drug case after a phone number registered in his name appeared in the investigation, although he said he never used it. According to the youth's and his family's account, he registered the number in his name in 2024 to help a female friend's sister who works at one of the communications companies and needed to meet certain sales targets, but he did not keep the number and did not use it.
Lawyers speaking to media said concerns extend beyond the use of numbers in criminal cases. Phone numbers in Egypt are linked to various services including digital wallets. Through a phone number, users can transfer money, pay bills, make purchases and electronic payments, and access other financial services. According to data from the national communications regulatory authority, the number of digital wallets owned by mobile companies reached 46.3 million in the second quarter of 2025.
A lawyer and legal expert said that having a number registered in someone's name can place that person in a position where they need to prove they do not own or use the number if it appears in the context of a criminal investigation. The legal expert added that phone number registration data might be one piece of evidence from which investigative authorities start searching for perpetrators, but a number appearing in someone's name does not mean that person is the actual user.
Alongside the referral of mobile operators to the prosecutor, the national communications regulatory authority announced new procedures to strengthen rules for phone number registration and ensure the identity of actual users. A member of the communications and information technology committee of parliament's lower house said the issue of verifying phone number ownership had been discussed with the national communications regulatory authority about four months ago. The discussion included a digital identity application that would allow updates to phone number data and verification of user identity using biometric verification methods, he said.
