In July 2025, the Knesset’s Science and Technology Committee convened a special session to examine Israel’s readiness to confront the rise in online fraud in the era of social media and generative AI (GenAI).
The session was informed and inspired by the Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL)’s recent findings, accumulated by the ISOC-IL Internet Safety Hotline throughout 2025, along with an in-depth analysis of emerging digital threats to Israeli users, compiled in ISOC-IL’s May 2025 research report, Algorithmic Scams: Social Media and Artificial Intelligence as Instruments of Financial Fraud. The ISOC-IL report provided a comprehensive picture of how financial scams are evolving in scale and sophistication—enabled by the algorithmic distribution systems of dominant social media platforms—and outlined actionable recommendations for national response.
The hearing brought together key national stakeholders, including representatives from law enforcement bodies, the Attorney General’s Office, the Israel National Cyber Directorate, the Ministry of Communication, civil society organizations, and social media platforms prevalent in Israel.
- Screenshot from public Knesset Channel 99: Edan Ring, ISOC-IL VP of Community Affairs, presents Internet Safety Hotline findings to Knesset Science and Technology Committee
The Algorithmic Scams report details the tailored psychological tactics and highly localized content used by today’s GenAI-based scams to deceive and defraud victims more effectively than ever before. Fraudsters use AI-generated “deepfake” videos impersonating public figures, legitimate-looking websites, and simulated trading platforms to lure users into financial schemes that appear authentic. The victims don’t just ‘fall for a scam’— they are drawn into a scenario engineered specifically for them.
These campaigns are hyper-personalized, using fluent Hebrew and mirroring local idioms, aesthetics, and public discourse. Some of the deepfake videos have falsely featured Israeli public figures such as Rotem Sela, Noa Kirel, Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—alongside international figures like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Fraudulent endorsements have exploited the branding of major Israeli institutions including Bank Leumi, Channel 14 News, El Al Airlines, and Discount Bank.
How Platforms and Policymakers Enable Abuse
At the core of the scam’s virality lies algorithmic ad targeting on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The platforms hand the fraudsters everything they need: audience segmentation, anonymity, and precise exposure. Meanwhile, ISOC-IL data shows that even after reports to platform moderation mechanisms, only individual ads are removed in most cases—while the broader infrastructure remains untouched.
- Example of Fraud Campaign “Marketing Funnel”, page 8 of the report
Despite repeated complaints, platforms’ moderation and ad approval systems have failed to adequately address these threats. While Meta’s legal representative, Attorney Yehuda Ben Yaakov, argued that the platform is a global leader in fraud prevention, ISOC-IL’s findings demonstrate severe faults in Meta’s moderation mechanisms (as detailed in ISOC-IL’s Report, Section E). The fraudulent ads continue to circulate without being removed, and Meta’s powerful marketing and targeting tools continue to serve the fraudsters in ensnaring their victims.
Meanwhile, despite the growing threat, both government bodies and technology companies have yet to implement robust responses. Government agencies present at the hearing, including the Israel National Cyber Directorate, the Cyber Unit of the Attorney General’s Office, and the Ministry of Communications, pointed to their limited jurisdiction and insufficient resources as obstacles to effectively pursuing international cybercriminal networks. Nonetheless, legislators and state authorities are not exempt from developing mechanisms to confront this dangerous phenomenon and protect Israel’s citizens online.
There are currently no statutory mechanisms in Israel to mandate transparency of platform moderation, enforce removal of illegal content, or impose penalties for negligence. ISOC-IL’s practical recommendations for effective policy formation are laid out in the full-length research report (Section F).
ISOC-IL Internet Safety Hotline and Survey Data Reveal National Exposure
During the hearing, Edan Ring, ISOC-IL’s VP of Community Affairs, and Yonatan Ben-Horin, Director of the Internet Safety Hotline, presented troubling statistics:
- 27% of 2024 hotline cases involved account breaches and takeovers
- 17.6% were directly related to online scams and fraud
- According to a December 2024 national cybersecurity survey performed by ISOC-IL:
- 42% of Israelis reported being targeted by phishing or scams.
- 55% feared they would be victims of cyber crime within the next year.
- 30% still use outdated browsers or unsecured devices that make them unnecessarily vulnerable to cyber attacks.
These figures underscore the urgent need for national cyber literacy and stronger platform accountability, especially for vulnerable populations.
