Eyal Golan and Omer Adam with an urgent warning: the scam shaking the country
A particularly sophisticated method using artificial intelligence displays fake ads in collaboration with leading banks and performances by superstar artists; customers have already been harmed, and banks were forced to issue an unusual warning.
An aggressive and particularly sophisticated phishing campaign has been raging in recent weeks on social media, exploiting the identities of Israel's biggest music stars.
The fake publications offer free tickets or participation in raffles for performances by artists such as Omer Adam, Eyal Golan, Sarit Hadad, Idan Amedi, Osher Cohen, Odya, and Rita, who have no connection to the campaign. The ads are presented as a special promotion in collaboration with leading banks, including Bank Leumi and Mizrahi-Tefahot, with the goal of luring users to click on a link that leads to a fake site and extracting sensitive login details from them.
One of the victims shared online that after she entered details into an ad that impersonated Bank Leumi, her children's savings were emptied from her account. Fortunately, the activity was identified in time and the money was returned to her account by the bank.
The growing use of artificial intelligence tools allows criminals to create incredibly reliable images, ads, and landing pages. As Yoav Keren, CEO of the cyber company BrandShield, explains, the traditional signs that previously helped identify scams, such as phrasing errors or amateur design, have almost disappeared. Because of this, Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot has already published an official warning to its customers and clarified that the bank never requests login details on social media.
In response to the illicit use of their names, representatives of Omer Adam and Eyal Golan rushed to file a complaint with the police. Golan issued a statement clarifying that vigorous legal steps are being taken to locate those responsible for distributing the ads. From the company Liam Productions, it was stated unequivocally that these are false, misleading, and offensive messages intended to harm their good name and the reputation of the company and the singer.
To avoid falling into the trap, it is recommended to adopt the guidelines of cyber experts. Never enter banking benefits or promotions through links on social media. In any case of doubt, one should independently enter the application or the official website of the bank and check there if the benefit actually exists.
