Security Experts Warn About Ongoing WhatsApp Scam

An impersonator claiming to be a frum Yid has been joining WhatsApp groups to harvest phone numbers and call asking for tzedaka. He is actually a Christian cult member. 

By Anash.org reporter

Security experts are sounding the alarm about an impersonator involved in a WhatsApp scam targeting thousands of Jewish people.

The scam involved an individual who goes by the name of Edaan Brook. This individual, who changes numbers frequently, joins Jewish WhatsApp groups to harvest phone numbers. He then private messages or calls others in the group, stating he “needs help for Shabbos”, or is close to finding housing, or has recently lost his job.

Being that Brook is well acquainted with Hebrew terms and Jewish traditions, he can easily come across as an observant Jew, and many have fallen prey to his false accounts. According to victims, he has at times claimed to be a Lubavitcher, other times a Breslover, and other identities as well, based on the WhatsApp group he infiltrated.

According to one Lubavitcher who spoke to Anash.org but asked not to be identified, Brook can come off as convincing. “He sounded like someone who perhaps didn’t grow up as frum, but knew the right ‘lingo’ for me to believe he was frum today,” he said.

“I received a call a few months ago on an Erev Shabbos. The man said his name was Edan and that we are on a WhatsApp group together. He told me he was in a dire financial situation and he was doing his hishtadlus by calling to collect money. He knew exactly what to say. “

The Lubavitcher transferred $240 to Brook and only found out later that he was a con artist.

In truth, however, Brook is a self-acknowledged member of a Christian organization that describes itself as a cult, and Brook himself goes by a moniker that references Yoshke.

Ongoing for over a year, the scam has recently attracted the attention of official security organizations, who have begun warning about it. The Jewish Community Security Network, which is under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, recently posted a community security alert regarding the scam.

The alert was issued by Tim Torell, the director of the Jewish Community Security Network. Torell spoke to Anash.org this past week about the issue and the proper way to respond.

“It is illegal to solicit funds under a false premise, and doing so is a crime even if no money actually passes hands,” he said. “As such, anyone who was contacted is able to take action to help stop this from continuing.”

“The best way to deal with this issue is for those who were contacted to file a police report,” he said. “It is up to the police how to deal with this, and litigation can be long and tiring, but as the saying goes ‘the squeaky wheel gets the oil’, and if attention is drawn to this ongoing scam, action will be taken sooner than later.”