Envelopes Disappeared From Mailboxes — Cards Were Activated: How the Credit Card Scam Worked
A resident of Givatayim is accused of exploiting the mailing of new credit cards to customers to steal them from mailboxes and request changes to their details. The cards were used for a series of cash withdrawals and purchases. While in custody, he continued to threaten: "When I get out of here, I will scam the whole country."
An indictment including 12 counts was filed at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court against Raz Shimol, a 30-year-old resident of Givatayim, following a series of large-scale frauds. According to the indictment, the volume of transactions attributed to Shimol amounts to approximately 120,000 shekels, carried out using new credit cards stolen from citizens' mailboxes.
The indictment describes that the Isracard company issued new credit cards to its customers ahead of the expiration of existing cards and sent them in envelopes directly to mailboxes — sometimes without the customers' knowledge. Shimol is accused of taking the envelopes from the mailboxes himself, or through others.
According to the prosecution, after stealing the envelopes, he would call (or send someone to call on his behalf) the credit card company's call center while impersonating the customers and request to change the contact details in the system. After updating the details, the cards were activated and used for a series of cash withdrawals and purchases at various businesses.
Withdrawals at convenience stores and charges at mobile phone stores
The indictment details several cases. Among others, a card sent to a complainant in Ramat Gan was activated, and shortly thereafter, Shimol withdrew 6,000 shekels from it in two ATM transactions, and on the same day, purchases at a convenience store in Holon are attributed to him.
In another case, a card belonging to a Ramat Gan resident was activated during the night, and before four in the morning, Shimol withdrew 6,000 shekels from it at an ATM on HaYarden Street, while an additional withdrawal attempt failed.
In another count, he is attributed two withdrawals of 6,000 shekels each from another complainant's card, followed by a series of transactions in Tel Aviv and Herzliya, including a purchase of 5,500 shekels at a mobile phone store. The total amount of transactions on this card, excluding the withdrawals, reached more than 11,000 shekels.
"When I get out of here, I will scam the whole country"
In the remand request, the state argued that this is a large-scale fraud case carried out using a sophisticated method. According to the state, the prosecution has the complainants' statements, printouts from the credit card company, and security camera footage from ATMs and businesses where Shimol is documented using the cards. At the time of his arrest, a credit card registered in the name of one of the complainants was found on his person.
At the Bnei Brak police station, Shimol told the police officer guarding him:
"When I am released, I will continue and scam the whole country"
He added that after his release, he would "also scam the police officers" and find out where the officer lives. The prosecution defined these remarks as an "initial admission." During his interrogation, Shimol exercised his right to remain silent.
Shimol has 14 previous convictions and two records without conviction between 2013 and 2026, including fraud offenses and the use of essential payment instrument components, as well as sex offenses, violence, and drug offenses, for which he served several prison sentences. The state requested to keep him in custody until the end of the proceedings. His detention was extended at this stage by another two weeks.
