Bank Leumi CEO Accuses Facebook of Profiting from Israeli Scams
Translated & summarized from Vesty by baba
Bank Leumi CEO Hanan Friedmann is suing Meta, Facebook's parent company, for 26.6 million shekels, alleging the platform profits from fraudulent ads targeting Israelis. The lawsuit claims these ads, often impersonating the bank or public figures, lead to significant financial losses for customers. Friedmann is inviting other victims and organizations to join the legal fight against Meta's alleged complicity in scams. The bank seeks compensation for client losses, operational costs, and reputational damage, alongside demands for stricter ad verification.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Bank Leumi CEO Hanan Friedmann is suing Meta (Facebook) for 26.6 million shekels over fraudulent ads.
- The lawsuit alleges Facebook profits from scam advertisements targeting Israelis.
- Victims of scams and public figures are being encouraged to join the legal action.
- The bank seeks compensation for customer losses, operational costs, and reputational damage.
- Bank Leumi demands stricter advertiser verification and pre-screening of posts mentioning its name.
Hanan Friedmann, the CEO of Bank Leumi, is spearheading a legal battle against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, by seeking to identify and involve Israelis who have been victims of social media fraud. The bank has filed a lawsuit against Meta seeking 26.6 million shekels. Friedmann stated on social media platform X that Facebook is profiting from fraudulent advertisements that impersonate the bank and cause financial harm to its clients.
These ads are made in the name of famous people like Shaul, or large financial organizations like Bank Leumi. It's time for the media and regulators to wake up and understand: Facebook is getting rich by stealing from Israelis. That's exactly how it is. That's why they don't stop it. It's not a bug, it's a feature."
He noted that even his superiors and relatives were confused by these false endorsements.
Tamir Mendlovsky, author of "Investments for Dummies," whose name has also been used in scams, joined the discussion, sharing notifications from Facebook regarding fake ads and requesting to connect with the bank's legal department. Friedmann extended a general invitation for anyone or any organization willing to help combat Facebook's practices to join the lawsuit. Friedmann believes Facebook's core issue is its tolerance of scams, which he argues is intentional to avoid impacting advertising revenue.
Former Knesset Member Abir Kara also highlighted a Facebook post announcing a ticket giveaway purportedly from Bank Leumi, which Friedmann reposted, calling it another example of a Facebook victim and urging broader participation in the fight against the platform's fraudulent activities. The lawsuit, filed in August 2026, alleges that Meta approves and promotes fraudulent ads for payment, even when they show signs of being fake, such as unauthorized use of the bank's trademarks, poor grammar, and unverified advertiser accounts.
These ads promise false benefits and lure users into revealing personal data and confirmation codes to hack their accounts. The bank's prior claim in June indicated that such publications led to approximately 140 million shekels in fraudulent transactions on customer accounts, with about 84 million shekels in fraud being prevented. The lawsuit includes 3.9 million shekels reimbursed to affected clients, 17.7 million shekels for processing, monitoring, and operational expenses, and 5 million shekels for reputational damage. Bank Leumi is also seeking an order for Meta to implement stricter advertiser verification, flag ads from unverified accounts, and pre-screen posts mentioning the bank's name.
In September 2026, both parties informed the court they were in negotiations to avoid a ruling on a temporary restraining order, but the current status of these talks is unknown. Separately, Meta was ordered to pay a $25 billion fine in New Mexico for misleading users about personal data handling, a case stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
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