Bank Leumi has filed a NIS 26.6 million lawsuit against Meta in Tel Aviv District Court, alleging that fraudulent advertisements impersonating the bank on Facebook and Instagram are being used to steal customers’ sensitive information and access their accounts.

According to the lawsuit, Meta allows paid advertisements impersonating Leumi to appear on its platforms despite signs that the content may be fraudulent. The bank claims Meta’s screening and monitoring systems are insufficient to detect and prevent the scams before they reach users.

The fraudulent advertisements allegedly use Bank Leumi’s name and trademarks without authorization while offering fake promotions, including shopping vouchers and vehicle raffles. Victims are then directed to provide login information and verification codes, which scammers allegedly use to access bank accounts and steal money.

Leumi said many of the fraudulent advertisements contained warning signs that could have been identified in advance, including poorly written text, suspicious website addresses and anonymous accounts that were not among the bank’s official verified profiles.

The bank says it suffered NIS 26.6 million in damages, including NIS 3.9 million reimbursed to affected customers, NIS 17.7 million in monitoring, investigation, technological and operational costs, and another NIS 5 million in alleged reputational damage.

According to the lawsuit, the scale of the scams has increased sharply. Leumi said 243 cases of fraudulent advertising were identified in July alone — more than the total number detected during the entire first half of 2026.

During the first two weeks of August, customers suffered NIS 590,000 in losses, while another NIS 9.2 million in potential losses were prevented, according to the bank.

In addition to monetary damages, Leumi is asking the court to impose permanent requirements on Meta aimed at preventing future scams. The bank wants advertisers to undergo identity verification, stricter requirements for financial advertisements, clear warnings on ads from unverified accounts, and the ability for Leumi to review advertisements using its name in advance.

The bank is also seeking identifying information about fraudulent advertisers so it can pursue enforcement proceedings.

Leumi claims previous appeals to Meta failed to adequately address the problem, arguing that the company focused on removing individual fraudulent advertisements after publication rather than implementing systems to prevent them from appearing in the first place.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)