Iran creates fake profiles to recruit Israeli citizens and harm security

Iranian intelligence agents have been approaching Israeli citizens on various social media platforms in an attempt to recruit them for tasks in Israel that could harm the state's security, the Shin Bet revealed on Thursday.

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) found numerous fake profiles used by Iranian intelligence, which have been identified and monitored.

Additionally, posts by the "IRAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE" were found in Telegram groups and channels. The posts offered "interesting and exciting" jobs with the promise of high pay for completing them. The post included a "link" where respondents were asked to fill in their personal details.

A significant number of Israeli citizens who received such suspicious messages refrained from responding and reported them to security agencies.

Israelis must increase vigilance

In response to the findings, the Shin Bet stated that it and other security branches of Israel "will continue to identify Iranian activities in Israel, including attempts to conduct influence operations aimed at undermining national resilience, sowing demoralization, and deepening divisions within Israeli society."

It added that the Israeli public is advised to increase "their vigilance, report suspicious messages from unknown sources to security agencies, avoid sharing personal details, and refrain from clicking on links from unidentified sources,", especially during the complex time when digital space can be used for intimidation or the promotion of terror activities.