Bank Leumi Sues Meta for NIS 26.6 Million Over Phishing Ads Impersonating the Bank

Bank Leumi has filed a lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, seeking NIS 26.6 million. The bank alleges that Meta allowed phishing advertisements impersonating Bank Leumi to be published on its platforms, leading to customer scams and financial losses. According to the lawsuit filed in the Tel Aviv District Court, these ads appeared legitimate, offering incentives such as shopping vouchers, cars, or gifts, and used Bank Leumi’s name, logo, and branding to deceive users.

Users who clicked on the ads were redirected to fake websites resembling the bank’s official site, where they were prompted to enter login credentials and verification codes. The scammers then used this information to access accounts and steal funds. Bank Leumi claims that the fraudulent nature of these ads was easily identifiable due to suspicious URLs, spelling errors, awkward phrasing, anonymous advertiser accounts, and even deepfake technology. The bank accuses Meta of knowingly profiting from these scam campaigns without taking adequate measures to prevent them.

The lawsuit states that Bank Leumi has already compensated customers for millions of shekels lost, invested significant resources in detecting and blocking the scams, and suffered reputational damage. In July alone, 243 scam campaigns were identified on Meta’s platforms, exceeding the total number detected in the first half of the year. Besides monetary compensation, Bank Leumi is demanding that the court require Meta to strengthen advertiser identity verification, label ads from unverified accounts, and allow the bank to pre-approve campaigns using its name and symbols. Meta has not yet responded to the lawsuit.