The Central District Fraud and Cybercrime Unit opened an undercover investigation in November, including suspicion of dozens of cases of impersonating family members of abductees and evacuees, cynically exploiting the harsh reality and public sympathy in order to deceive citizens and fraudulently obtain financial donations.
More than NIS 1 million: Six suspects arrested on suspicion of defrauding hundreds of citizens (Archive) // Police Spokesperson's Office
On Thursday morning, the unit's investigators arrested the main suspect as he tried to leave the country, while investigators from the fraud unit, assisted by Zichron Yaakov and Migdal HaEmek police stations, arrested the three suspects in the affair, residents of the north about 30 years old.
It is suspected that the three posed as a number of different people from among the families of the abductees and evacuees, using their pictures from a social network, and contacted the public through messaging software and asked for cash donations only. As the investigation has developed so far, it has emerged that the suspects allegedly managed to fraudulently receive huge sums of about NIS 100,<>.
The Central District Fraud and Cybercrime Unit opened an undercover investigation in November, photo: Gideon Markowitz (illustration)
At the end of their interrogation, the police will ask the Hadera Magistrate's Court to extend their detention this afternoon, in accordance with the findings and needs of the investigation.
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