Hostages Forum warns of online fraud schemes exploiting goodwill of supporters

Over the past few months, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says it has encountered thousands of fraudulent attempts by scammers who use the names of Israeli hostages and their families to sell counterfeit, fake merchandise online and raise donations under false pretenses.

These scams, which have already collected significant sums estimated at millions of shekels, prey on the public’s sympathy and eagerness to support the hostages and families in their struggle.

“It’s difficult to see how this sensitive situation is being exploited by fraudsters to rake in money at the expense of the families’ struggle to bring all hostages home,” said Sivan Fleisher, manager of the online fundraising and marketing team at the Forum. “Scammers understood that there is a willingness on the part of the public to contribute and join the struggle, and they are taking cynical advantage of the situation and are impersonating our campaign.”

Fleisher said that the Forum found imposter websites exploiting the names and images of hostages to open online retail stores and sell fake products that look similar or identical to merchandise and accessories officially sold via an online store on the Forum’s website.

In other instances, bad actors are creating copycat sites illegally using the Forum’s logo, font, colors, and slogans to impersonate the organization and lure the public to make contributions and donations, pretending that the proceeds will go toward campaigns to bring the hostages home and support them and their families.

The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, a civil, volunteer-based organization, was formed after the October 7, 2023, assault to offer every kind of support to the families of the hostages.

As the phenomenon of impersonations and counterfeit sales gained more traction in recent months, the Forum reached out to Israeli cybersecurity firm BrandShield, which protects brands from imposter scams by tracking and helping to eliminate fake websites.

“Over the last couple of months, we have detected and taken down 1,165 fake listings on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Temu, Alibaba, Redbubble, and others that are stealing the public’s money when they sell counterfeits such as T-shirts and caps with the names of pictures of hostages, or an military-style necklace with the Forum’s slogans,” BrandShield CEO Yoav Keren told The Times of Israel. “We also took down a phishing site impersonating the Forum’s site, pretending to raise funds, scamming people and exploiting the situation for their own personal profit.”

Phishing consists of ads, emails or text messages that trick a person into clicking a link to websites that look legitimate.

“When doing a quick calculation, all of these scams potentially created damage of millions of shekels… lost funds that never went to the Forum’s campaign to help release the hostages from captivity and support their families,” said Keren.

Keren said that the cybersecurity firm joined forces with the Forum on a pro bono basis in August. BrandShield uses an AI-based web monitoring platform to detect and analyze phishing, impersonation and fraud encounters in order to minimize or stop the abuse of brands. Among its customers are retailer Levi’s, pharmaceutical and medical device companies Abbott Laboratories and Bristol Myers Squibb, and file storage firm Dropbox.

“There are about 300 additional websites and profiles suspected of impersonation, which BrandShield identified in the past week alone, and is going after,” said Keren.

Throughout the two-year war period, the Forum has continued vigilantly with its campaign to raise global awareness and call for the immediate release of the hostages. As part of the awareness campaign and to collect support for the struggle, thousands of people purchase merchandise on the Forum’s official website.

The online store includes necklaces and bracelets with the yellow ribbon and the Forum’s slogans, as well as T-shirts, some printed with the names and pictures of hostages, and patterned caps — all intended to be a symbol of identification and solidarity with those held in captivity.

All proceeds from sales are donated to the Forum to support efforts to bring all hostages back home, and to provide financial, medical, legal, and psychological aid to released hostages and their families, said Fleisher.

Fleisher and Keren urged the public to interact with the Forum’s official site to buy merchandise and provide any contributions.

“The public needs to be vigilant, and careful and not engage with anything that is not directly related or linked to the Forum’s website,” said Keren.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.