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Založený: 14.08.2025
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How a scammer from Petah Tikva took 300 thousand shekels from pensioners and why Israel’s strippers are talking about it
In Israel, it is hard to surprise anyone with stories about phone scams. But this one touched many, and not only the victims. On August 14, 2025, it became known: a young resident of Petah Tikva, barely past twenty-five, was accused of draining about 300,000 shekels from pensioners.
Not through the Internet, not with tricky “investments”, but directly — posing as a police officer or a courier from a credit company. He would call, talk about “suspicious transactions” on the card, and then personally come for it. And what is surprising — people believed.
When the club scene is alarmed
In the evening, in one of the Tel Aviv clubs, strippers in the center discussed this louder than the new tracks in the playlist.
— “We are used to our small risks — someone argues over the amount, someone tries to take a photo without permission. But to steal from pensioners? That’s already in a different, dark league,” says a dancer working in a venue on Dizengoff.
And yes, such conversations are heard both in clubs in the north and in venues in Ashdod. For the first time in a long time, the topic of fraud has become common for completely different layers of society.
How it all started
The story did not unfold in one day. Complaints to the police began to come in the spring, but only in July did investigators collect enough evidence to get to the suspect. On July 30 he was detained, his apartment was searched, and what they found confirmed the suspicions.
Interestingly, he did not choose one city — he operated across the country. From Petah Tikva to the coastal areas of Haifa. Such geography looked more like a concert tour than a criminal run.
The economic side of the scam
To understand the scale:
Amount Equivalent
300,000 ₪ about 77,000 $
300,000 ₪ almost three years of apartment rent in central Tel Aviv
300,000 ₪ more than 12,000 hours of work of a stripper in the south of the country
It was this figure that shocked — for an elderly person it can mean the complete disappearance of savings.
Why even the entertainment industry comments
Israel-Stripper, author and observer of the nightlife scene, believes that the reaction of the club industry is natural:
“We know the value of trust. When someone breaks it so roughly, it affects everyone — from waiters to performers. Because tomorrow such a ‘courier’ may knock on any of our doors.”
On the website strippers they are already preparing material on how to protect personal data — whether you work with bank cards or simply accept payment for a performance. |
