Investigators from the Fraud and Cybercrime Unit in the Central District have been conducting a complex undercover investigation in recent months, after dozens of complaints were received at police stations across the country, on suspicion of a systematic sting carried out using the 'Bit' app - primarily targeting the elderly and innocent citizens.
The investigation's findings revealed that the suspects used to locate victims who posted sales ads on the 'Yad 2' website, contacted them using operational numbers and WhatsApp accounts under false identities, and presented themselves as potential buyers interested in transferring a down payment for the product, supposedly while they were abroad.
Later, during the conversation with the victims, the suspects sent a request through others to receive money on the 'Bit' app, creating a false representation as if it was a payment transfer.
The victims, many of whom are in their 70s and older, approved the request in good faith and transferred thousands of shekels to the suspects in each case, sometimes up to the maximum transfer limit on the app.
The investigation also reveals that after receiving the money, the suspects would delete the correspondence and disappear, while the victims only discover in retrospect that they had fallen victim to a fraud.
Some of the money transfer operators were recruited through Telegram ads that promised "easy and quick profit" in exchange for making money transfers and withdrawals.
These same elements allegedly served as a conduit for transferring funds between the suspects, through bank transfers, code withdrawals, and additional bit transfers, sometimes without knowing that the funds originated from fraudulent offenses.
As the investigation moved to the open phase, the unit's investigators arrested 3 suspects, residents of the center, and after exhausting all investigative activities, an indictment was filed against them by the police prosecution units in Lahav 433.
