Bank Leumi has filed a NIS 26.6 million lawsuit against Meta, accusing the technology giant of allowing scammers to run fraudulent advertisements impersonating the bank across Facebook and Instagram and alleging that Meta financially benefited from the deceptive campaigns.

The lawsuit, filed in Tel Aviv District Court, claims that users encountered convincing advertisements falsely presented as Bank Leumi promotions. The ads allegedly used the bank’s name, logo and other branding while promising prizes and benefits including gift cards, cars and other giveaways.

According to the bank, users who clicked on the advertisements were redirected to fraudulent websites designed to resemble Bank Leumi’s legitimate online banking site. Victims were then prompted to provide account credentials and verification codes, information that the scammers allegedly used to gain access to customers’ accounts and steal their money.

Bank Leumi argues that numerous warning signs should have made the fraudulent nature of the campaigns readily apparent to Meta. The lawsuit cites suspicious website addresses, spelling errors, poorly written text, anonymous advertising accounts and, in some instances, the use of deepfake technology.

“You don’t need special detective work to identify the suspicious signs,” the lawsuit states.

Bank Leumi goes further, alleging that Meta “knowingly cooperated in defrauding bank customers out of considerations of greed.”

The bank says the alleged scams have already caused substantial financial damage. According to the lawsuit, Bank Leumi has reimbursed affected customers millions of shekels while spending significant resources identifying fraudulent campaigns and attempting to have them blocked. The bank also claims the schemes have damaged its reputation by exploiting its name and image to deceive customers.

Bank Leumi says the problem has intensified dramatically. In July alone, according to the lawsuit, the bank identified 243 fraudulent advertising campaigns on Meta platforms — more than the total number it detected during the entire first six months of the year.

Beyond the NIS 26.6 million in damages being sought, Bank Leumi is asking the court to order Meta to introduce stronger safeguards aimed at preventing similar scams.

Among the measures requested are stricter procedures for verifying the identities of advertisers, clear labels on advertisements published through accounts whose identities have not been verified, and a mechanism allowing Bank Leumi to review campaigns using its name, logo or other identifying symbols before they are published.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has not yet filed its response to Bank Leumi’s lawsuit.