Beware of mail solicitations for Egypt visa!!

Hello, travellers. I would like to advise you of a notice I received in the mail that was a scam.

A few weeks ago I booked the Nile Valley & Red Sea tour through Adventure Center in California. The other day I received a letter in the mail from a company in the Washington DC area. In big, bold letters at the top of the page it read, "Instructions for Adventure Center Clients." It went on to tell me that I must mail my passport to this company's offices in DC in order to obtain my Egyptian visa, along with a check for $66. They kept using Adventure Center's name, as if this notice came from them.

I knew right away that this letter was not from Adventure Center, since Adventure Center is located in California and this other company was in Washington DC. Also, I have already been told by American Airlines that US citizens can get their visas upon arrival at the Cairo airport for only $15. Therefore, it would be a complete waste of time and money to mail my passport to that company and pay $66 to get the visa. And furthermore, I think it's wrong that they are trying to imply that these instructions are coming from my booking agent. I didn't fall for it, but there's no telling how many people do.

I faxed the letter to Adventure Center and they confirmed my suspicions, which is that they did not send this letter and I should get my visa upon arrival in Cairo. The agent I spoke to thanked me for the notice and has passed it on to her manager.

In summary, I would like to advise everyone that if you get such a notice in the mail, please check it out. I know you all are savvy travellers, but this letter might have been convincing if I hadn't already looked into visa requirements. I'm sure scams like this are not limited to the US, so if anyone else would like to post the entry requirements for your country, I welcome you to do so.

Thanks.