1.2 million shekel mortgage discovered on apartment without owners' knowledge: suspected identity theft

Is a network operating that exploits stolen identities to mortgage the apartments of Israelis living abroad? A lawsuit filed in the Central District Court in Lod raises allegations of a mechanism involving identity theft, forgery, and fraud, through which a 1.2 million shekel mortgage was registered on the apartment of a couple from Netanya — without their knowledge and without their signature on the loan documents.

This is at least the second case exposed recently where property owners in Netanya living abroad claim that impostors using stolen identification documents managed to mortgage their property. Both lawsuits involve mortgages registered in favor of the non-bank credit company Magen Afikim. The current lawsuit was filed against Magen Afikim and other parties involved, including Discount Bank and Bank Hapoalim.

The couple, who live in Moscow, claims that the loan and the funds transferred to a bank account were neither taken nor received by them. In December 2024, upon arriving in Israel, they discovered their credit card was blocked and their apartment had been broken into, with identification cards and valuables stolen. A year and a half later, a representative of Magen Afikim contacted their daughter, claiming her parents were behind on mortgage repayments.

The family asserts that the documents presented are forgeries. One indicator that should have alerted Magen is the identical photograph in the ID card and driver's license, which is highly improbable, alongside the fact that the photos depicted young people, inconsistent with the birth dates on the documents. Despite meetings with the company, Magen Afikim maintains its refusal to cancel the mortgage and threatens to seize the property.

In another lawsuit filed in the same court, a brother and sister living in Germany claimed that impostors managed to obtain a 2 million shekel loan and register a mortgage on their Netanya apartment. They also alleged that the affair began with a break-in and the theft of their ID cards, which were then used to create forged documents.

In response, Magen Afikim stated it rejects the allegations, noting that the legal proceeding is in its early stages and that all factual and legal claims will be clarified before the competent court. These cases are particularly concerning against the backdrop of rising identity theft fraud, as using stolen identities for real estate mortgages has far more significant consequences for property rights than standard consumer loan fraud.