Suspect charged for stealing from bank customers through phishing

A resident of southern Israel has been convicted of aggravated fraud and transactions in prohibited property, the Magistrates’ Court ruled Wednesday morning.

Magistrates’ Court Judge Anat Choleta found that the defendant exploited Bank Hapoalim ’s “Deposit Envelope” service to commit fraud totalling nearly one million shekels.

According to the verdict, the defendant made 14 cash deposits using the bank’s envelope service at four different branches. The service allows customers to declare a deposit amount online, place the cash in an envelope, and insert it into a machine at the branch. The declared amount is credited to the customer’s account immediately, while the actual cash is counted within 48 hours.

The court found that the defendant declared deposits totalling NIS 977,088.30 b