Medical cannabis and loan offers: No one is stopping the spam messages flooding Israel
Doubtful spam messages have been driving Israeli citizens crazy for more than six months without hindrance.
Security expert: "Cellular companies do not want help because they are afraid of losing money."
National Cyber Array: "Every message reported is handled."
Israel Police: "Constantly working on information and enforcement"
Yinon Ben Shoshan
21/04/2022
Thursday, 21 April 2022, 12:45 Updated: 12:53
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"Medical cannabis without the need for a license": The messages that drive Israel crazy (Photo: Walla! Technology, screenshot)
Technological advances in recent years and the making of complex technologies available to all require have opened up a whole world of possibilities for gray and even criminal organizations.
In the last six months, the same dubious elements
have found a new method of flooding an entire country with spam messages
, and raking in huge profits - without anyone stopping it.
"Medical bags without the need for a license", "You deserve a quick loan", "Real time sports betting" and more.
Every few days, spam messages arrive on the phones of Israeli citizens from a random source who offer to join gambling sites, get a loan or purchase medical cannabis products - even if you do not smoke and have never purchased even one gram.
Attached to the message is a link leading to a telegram group or a dubious website.
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The messages that drive Israel crazy (Photo: Walla! Technology, screenshot)
"For several months now, these entities have been operating freely and offering their services in push messages to our mobile devices without any control. Today, the responsibility to filter these messages lies with the citizen, but the scope of the problem requires comprehensive looking and blocking of widespread messages,"
he said .
Lotem Finkelstein, Director of Cyber and Intelligence Research at Check Point
.
"While until recently most of the activity of those drug traffickers, interest-bearing loans and gambling, was limited to the dark web or the telegram messaging app - today SMS distribution services accessible to the general public," Finkelstein added.
"The activity was limited to the Dark Web or the Telegram messaging app."
One of the messages sent to Israelis (Photo: screenshot, screenshot)
"The most delicious grass that is responsible" (Photo: screenshot, screenshot)
"This is a hacked market"
"Apparently no one is responsible for this scandal, but the law and government authorities are solely responsible for enforcing crime, whether online or offline," said
Ido Naor, CEO and owner of Security Joes in a conversation with Walla! Technology
. "Law enforcement and government authorities can issue a sweeping directive in which cellular companies, the Internet and external providers are required to add a warning warning to public spam messages.
" "The reason they do not enforce this problem is a lack of interest.
Cellular, internet companies and under them carriers that receive SMS messaging rights only benefit from all this traffic.
They do not take responsibility for the final product of the SMS.
This is a hacked market. "
According to Naor, the cellular companies do not want help in solving the problem by choice: "There are startups that have offered their help for a fee and even your loyal servant who also volunteered. "They will use another service to avoid regulation or enforcement around the content of the message or the sender's ID - and they are losing money."
In contrast, Mae Brooks-Kempler, a cyber expert and founder of the "Safe Online" Facebook community, believes it is difficult to determine at this stage whether legislation will suffice.
"Text messages are sent by a variety of services in Israel and around the world and it is not at all clear whether there will be a significant enforcement option for mail service providers outside Israel."
"The largest gambling site in the country" (Photo: Walla! Technology, screenshot)
"All sports betting" (Photo: Walla! Technology, screenshot)
The information security company ESET also confirms that this is indeed a widespread phenomenon:
"At the end of 2021 we conducted a survey which showed that 83% of the public in Israel received one or another phishing message on their mobile device and the numbers are high. Blocking messages of this kind that aim to deprive us of information, and even if not, simply interfere and be a nuisance for us. Right now. "
Offer for a loan by SMS (Photo: Walla! Technology, screenshot)
The suspect was arrested - the sting continued
As mentioned, technological expansion has made the struggle of law enforcement more complex.
In January, it was reported that Muhammad Abbasi, 22, a resident of the Palestinian settlement of Swahara southeast of Jerusalem, was arrested on suspicion of carrying out a phishing campaign in which he impersonated the Israel Post.
According to the allegation, the suspect sent thousands to his victims thousands of SMS messages and made a profit of more than NIS 200,000 from the campaign.
The messages, which were allegedly sent on behalf of the Israel Post, state that the package they ordered arrived in Israel, but it was stopped at customs and they must pay a sum of money in order to release it, or a daily fee will be added to the payment amount.
However, even these days the scam continues.
"The details can be used for forgery, intelligence gathering and finally terrorism."
A message impersonating the Israel Post (Photo: Screenshot)
"We investigated in depth the attacks of the Israel Post and have already submitted to the Israel Police the exact names and locations of Palestinian citizens in Israel and abroad, but we received a complete disregard," Ido Naor added. Israel, may assist criminals in committing further offenses: "Hackers request photocopies of identity cards and passports, which can then be used for forgery, intelligence gathering and finally terrorism."
The Israel Police responded:
"As part of the Israeli police's efforts to protect against cyber-scams and offenses committed on the Internet, we are aware of the discourse and are constantly working to inform and enforce it, in order to prevent and reduce the attempts of spam messages and online fraud offenses."
The National Cyber System responded:
"In the past year, the national cyber system has identified an increase in the distribution of phishing messages and has put the issue at the center of information efforts to identify suspicious signs and understand the risk.
Every message that is reported is handled with the tools of the array to make the links irrelevant and prevent the theft of personal information.
The system will soon launch a page where the suspicious announcements will be published for the benefit of the public. "
technology
Privacy and security
Tags
Fishing
Spam
Cannabis
fraud