New Scam Impersonates Israel Electric and Stock Exchange on Social Media

A new fraud campaign active on Facebook and Instagram over the past day is attempting to lure Israelis into revealing their personal information by impersonating the Israel Electric Corporation and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The sponsored ads, published under the name "Israel Market Research," use the official logos of both entities, creating the impression of legitimate advertisements. To entice users, the campaign offers research materials on the energy and natural gas markets, or ranks of "50 leading dividend companies in Israel."

After users submit their details, they are directed to chat channels and WhatsApp groups where stock and investment scams are conducted. Matan Gidanyan, founder of the anti-fraud app Fisherman, warned that this is part of a worrying trend of using the identities of well-known Israeli organizations to gain victims' trust. "We are seeing an escalation where the names of the most official Israeli bodies are used to promote scams," Gidanyan stated. He highlighted the severity of using the "Stock Exchange" brand, the central body for stock trading in Israel, noting that fraudsters are cynically exploiting public trust in these institutions to ensnare investors.

The campaign underscores the danger of relying on names or logos in social media ads. In this case, the use of recognized names is intended to lend credibility before users share their information and are moved to the communication channels where the actual fraud takes place.