"Lost over 60 million shekels": Israel's largest bank faces a new fraud
Information security experts reveal a sophisticated campaign that uses the name of Bank Hapoalim to lure users into investing in cheap stocks, a method that has left many Israelis with heavy losses.
The wave of sophisticated online fraud is expanding and changing form: shortly after the high-profile lawsuit filed by Bank Leumi against Meta for fictitious advertisements, information security experts are now revealing a new scam campaign impersonating Bank Hapoalim. The campaign is distributed on social networks through sponsored ads offering a capital market course for beginners, and lures users with recommendations for stocks that promise sharp price increases.
According to the company Fisherman Security, this is a sophisticated investment fraud of the pump and dump type. As part of the scam, the fraudsters purchase cheap and worthless stocks in advance and use the fake campaign to create artificial demand around them and cause innocent investors to pour in funds. As soon as the stock price skyrockets, the organizers sell all their holdings for a huge profit, causing an immediate collapse of the rate and leaving the victims with heavy losses.
Matan Gidinian, CEO of the Fisherman app that exposed the campaign, warns of the alarming dimensions of the phenomenon:
"In the last year, Israelis have lost over 60 million shekels in scams of this type - scams that flow freely on social networks and in the SMS inboxes of many Israelis."
Security experts emphasize that the ads use the branding of well-known financial entities to gain public trust.
The new scam exploiting the name of Bank Hapoalim shows that the capital market has become a breeding ground for online fraudsters. It remains to be seen how the banking system and law enforcement authorities will act to stop the wave of fraud and prevent the investing public from falling into the trap.
