Five yeshiva students in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood of northern Jerusalem fell victim over the past week to a known con artist who resurfaced after a period of absence.
The man, who introduces himself as "Amnon," is already familiar to residents from previous scams and once again succeeded in deceiving locals with fabricated stories of distress.
According to residents, the swindler approaches yeshiva students late at night and presents them with urgent emergency situations.
To bolster his credibility, he developed a sophisticated method: he offers to leave his mobile phone as collateral, turns it on speaker, and conducts staged conversations with individuals pretending to be family members or his wife.
In some cases, he even shows forged money transfer documents to give the impression of seriousness.
Victims soon discover that the man disappears along with their money. In incidents where he is confronted, he resorts to insults and physical threats.
Information gathered about the man indicates that he has previously combined fraud with violence and other criminal activity, and even served time in prison. This explains his recent absence from the neighborhood, but he has now returned to operating in familiar territory.
“He knows the neighborhood and exactly how to approach our community,” said a longtime resident. “The problem is that he’s not only a swindler - he’s dangerous and not afraid to threaten people when exposed.”