"He said he was from the National Insurance Institute": Daughter prevents scam against her father

A couple from Ashdod rushed to the home of the woman's father late last month, fearing that something had happened to him. The father had not been answering their calls, causing them significant concern. Upon arriving at his building, they saw him outside: "Here is David, your friend," the father said.

The woman did not recognize the man her father was talking to and quickly realized that her father was on the verge of falling into a calculated trap. The con man, 72-year-old Mark Navler, had convinced the father to hand over 80,000 shekels in cash kept at his home.

"He said he was from the National Insurance Institute," the father explained to his daughter, "and that I needed to give him the money due to an insurance matter."

The couple alerted the police, and the man was arrested. Investigators determined that he was caught red-handed, and that the father was the fourth victim in a series of similar frauds. Working with accomplices, Navler would call elderly Russian speakers, convincing them to hand over their savings to him or a courier.

To add legitimacy to his scheme, he would involve other individuals in the phone calls to reinforce the false persona he was portraying. From one victim, he obtained cash and jewelry, while from two others, he took large sums of cash in both shekels and foreign currency.

Investigators identified the victims by reviewing security footage that captured his actions inside their homes. Navler confessed to the acts, claiming he was merely following orders.

The investigation file, including testimonies from four complainants, was transferred to the Southern District Attorney's Office. Attorney Daniel Gilad filed an indictment containing four counts of obtaining property by fraud. The case was submitted to the Be'er Sheva District Court along with a request for detention until the end of proceedings, citing the risk of further offenses and obstruction of justice.