The Bank of Israel Banking Supervision Department has published a draft directive that will oblige the banks to set up telephone helpdesks on financial fraud that will operate 24/7. Under the new requirement, the banks will have to be available to their customers 24/7, and to provide a professional response by a human being to customers in the event of suspicion of fraud or abuse in payment services.
Furthermore, the directive states that the wait for an answer from the helpdesk should not be more than six minutes from the beginning of the call, which is similar to provisions of the law concerning calls on other matters (such as account enquiries, account closure, and dealing with faults). The public has until September 14 to comment on the new directive.
What is significant about the bank helpdesk, as opposed to the general helpdesk of the Israel National Cyber Directorate, which is also available to the public, is that it will be able to provide an immediate response by at least halting the fraud, blocking the account or the means of payment. The Banking Supervision Department stresses that the key thing is availability, since many frauds take place at night or on a Saturday, when there is no-one to speak to at the bank and the customer is left helpless. The attacker continues to draw money from the account, and the attack is not stopped or even not discovered for many hours.
The directive comes against a background of rising fraud, specifically financial fraud on the Internet. Many attackers exploit ignorance and human weaknesses such as a sense of pressure or panic to make people click on malicious links or to provide personal information.
Supervisor of Banks Daniel Hahiashvili said, “The Banking Supervision Department has as one of its main goals to promote various measures to assist in the battle against financial fraud, in view of the rising number of cases of fraud involving bank accounts and payment mechanisms.”
The new requirement does not prevent banks from using digital channels of communication with customers, and the Banking Supervision Department even recommends the use of such channels for customers who are digitally aware. Bank customers are again warned against fraudsters posing as the Bank of Israel, the Israel Police, or the banks, and are called upon to “increase awareness, and to avoid handing over personal and confidential details.”
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The directive states that if there is a suspicion of fraud, people are recommended to contact the bank’s security department or public complaints department, and if no satisfactory response is received, the matter can be referred to the Banking Supervision Department at the Bank of Israel.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on September 1, 2025.
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