RAFAH, Gaza Strip — When an unemployed person in the Gaza Strip suddenly shows signs of affluence, people often suspect he has joined the growing ranks of Internet phone hackers. These hackers have even formed a small social club in Gaza that is difficult to penetrate.

The Gaza Strip constitutes a fertile ground for electronic criminal activities in the absence of modern tools for law enforcement. In addition, victims of electronic crimes are unable to file complaints against these criminals, as hacking falls within the digital world, which is hard to pursue and monitor.​

The hackers are commonly said to “work with IPs,” or Internet Protocol addresses — the numerical equivalent of a domain name that identifies devices connected to the Internet.

Hacking phone calls using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) first emerged in the Gaza Strip in 2007, with the isolation caused by the Israeli blockade. Legend has it that a professional programmer broke into phone networks to communicate for free with his family residing outside Gaza. He started offering free service to his friends who wanted to make international calls. After that, he signed contracts with local communication offices to offer customers international service at below-market rates and shared the profit with the office owners.