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The Bank of Israel calls on the public to pay attention to attempts at fraud and misrepresentation, and wishes to bring to the public’s attention that criminal elements occasionally try to carry out fraudulent activities with the aim of extracting money from customers through misrepresenting themselves as representatives of the Bank of Israel, among other ways.  The criminal may send a letter that is supposedly “on behalf of” the Bank of Israel.

 

These attempts at fraud are mainly aimed at the elderly and at weaker population groups.  As part of the misrepresentation, the recipient is asked to transfer money, with the claim that it is to ensure that the customer can meet loan repayments.  In one example, a letter is sent “on behalf of” the Bank of Israel, showing a request to transfer money.  The misrepresentation is carried out through a variety of communication channels such as telephone calls, SMS messages, and email.

 

The public is asked to remain alert and to avoid sending personal or confidential details, and to increase the awareness of the elderly.  We emphasize that the Bank of Israel, the commercial banks, and the credit card companies will never contact people to ask them to provide personal, confidential, or financial details, including means of verification or identification such as an SMS containing a personal code.

 

If you have any concern that you may have fallen victim to fraud, we recommend that you directly contact the security department of your bank, or the Bank of Israel, or the police, as soon as possible.

 

In addition, as part of the Bank of Israel’s measures to increase public awareness, the Banking Supervision Department will be holding a “Digital Fraud Awareness Week”, and invites the public to participate in lectures to increase awareness of how to deal with the matter.

 

Points of emphasis to help deal with attempted fraud:

  • Send identification details only after calling the banking corporation’s call center, at a number that you have found on your own on the bank’s website.
  • Do not connect to your bank account via SMS or email that you have received.
  • Check the website address to which you are connecting (making sure that it is spelled properly), particularly when connecting through a search engine.
  • Do not provide credit card details or identification codes sent to you through a link that you received in an SMS or email to complete details. The bank or credit card company will not ask for an identification code by phone if the customer has not initiated the phone call.
  • If you are concerned that you have mistakenly provided such details to a suspicious person, immediately contact your banking corporation and report it.
  • Make a periodic examination of the transactions in your account in order to identify suspicious activity or inconsistencies.
  • If there is a doubt – there is no doubt! It is best not to answer a message or call or to click on a link before checking with the bank or the relevant company.

 

For more information and recommendations for protecting yourself against misrepresentations, please visit the Bank of Israel website.