Sophisticated Scam Campaign Impersonates Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Social Media
A sophisticated scam campaign on Instagram and Facebook is impersonating the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and Israel Electric Corporation to defraud investors through fake investment groups.
A sophisticated sponsored scam campaign has been running on Instagram and Facebook, impersonating major institutional bodies to defraud innocent investors. Operating under a page titled "Israel Market Research", the fraudulent ads utilize the official logos of the Israel Electric Corporation and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
The campaign lures users with promises of research materials on the energy and natural gas market or a ranking of Israel's "top 50 dividend-paying companies". After submitting their details via a form, victims are redirected to chat channels and WhatsApp groups where stock and investment fraud is executed.
Matan Gidinian, founder of the anti-fraud and spam app Fisherman, commented: "We are identifying a worsening trend where the names of the most official Israeli bodies are used to promote scams. Even more serious is the use of the 'Tel Aviv Stock Exchange' brand—the central and official body representing stock trading in the country. The scammers are cynically exploiting the public's absolute trust in these institutions to trap investors."
