The warning came as part of efforts to protect people from online bank fraud, known as phishing, in which customer information and credit cart details are used to commit fraudulent offenses and to make purchases and financial transactions online.Phishing attempts aim to get consumers to enter their personal information on a fake website so that the hackers can steal their credit card details and personal information for their own gain.
In December 2020, Check Point Research, an Israeli cybersecurity firm, detected a significant increase of phishing emails – 440% since October – impersonating the world's largest shipping companies, such as DHL, Fedex and Amazon.
In Israel, Check Point noted a 103% increase between November and October, with 56% of the emails containing fake messages related to shipments by Amazon, 36% by DHL and 18% by Fedex.
As part of the campaign against the fraud trend, people who are worried that they may have been caught in a phishing spam will be able to contact the relevant police department by emailing: mador-c@police.gov.il, or by messaging and phoning the number 0503954838.
Abigail Adler contributed to this report.