Hundreds of Israelis have reported receiving strange phone calls that authorities say were likely made by Iranian intelligence operatives trying to enlist collaborators.
Both the Israel Police and the National Cyber Directorate confirmed that citizens had complained of calls from unfamiliar numbers. The recordings on the line, delivered in heavily accented Hebrew, carried the message: “Iranian intelligence is looking for qualified agents.”
Cyber officials described the wave of calls as a deliberate campaign meant to spread fear while simultaneously probing for potential recruits. They added that the phone numbers used in the calls were traced back to prefixes beginning with 03-6817 and 03-3067.
To counter the attempt, the Directorate released guidelines to the public, warning people not to respond to such calls. If someone does answer, they advised hanging up without delay and not pressing any keys.
The Directorate stressed in its statement: “Simply answering the call does not harm your phone. The matter is under investigation and is being handled by the Directorate in coordination with the relevant security authorities.”
Police also confirmed the scale of the incident, noting: “Hundreds of citizens reported to the 100 hotline about phone calls they received from a number unknown to them and with which a person spoke, who offered to enlist to an Iranian organization”. The update continued, “These are calls intended to cause public alarm during wartime and attempts by Iranian intelligence elements to recruit Israeli citizens at home and abroad to advance intelligence collection and terrorist activity in Israel”.
{Matzav.com Israel}
