Hundreds Turn Out for Lecture on Protecting Yourself from Scammers
On June 25, Ashkelon's convention center hosted an unusual event: a lecture on digital fraud. Journalist and media activist Haim Etgar gathered several hundred residents — predominantly middle-aged and older adults, who stand to benefit most from knowing how not to become a victim.
Modern scammers operate systematically: they monitor social media, harvest personal data from public sources, and call with convincing cover stories. "I'm from your bank," "Your account has been hacked," "You've won a prize" — these schemes are well-known, yet the number of victims keeps rising.
Etgar presented real examples: fake SMS messages from "banks," clone pages of popular Israeli services, and fraudulent offers of "fortune-telling" and "curse removal" circulating on WhatsApp. He explained how to quickly verify the authenticity of a call, website, or link — without any technical expertise.
The key rules outlined by the speaker: — A bank will never ask for your PIN, CVV, or one-time code over the phone. — Before transferring money, call the recipient directly. — Check a suspicious link at virustotal.com before clicking. — If someone is rushing you — that's a red flag.
According to the National Cyber Directorate, Israelis lost more than 1.2 billion shekels to phone and internet fraud in 2025. Ashkelon is among the cities with the highest number of reported victims.