Iranian operatives have been posing as Israelis to try to recruit them, Shin Bet says
Latest alleged espionage op includes accounts claiming to give employment services, but actually putting Israelis to work for Tehran to harm state security, agency says
Iranian spies created fake online profiles impersonating Israeli users as part of a scheme to recruit Israeli civilians to carry out missions for Tehran, Israeli authorities said Thursday.
The accusation by the Shin Bet security agency marks the latest in a series of alleged Iranian plots trying to trick Israelis online, including a scheme uncovered in January in which Israelis were allegedly recruited to gather intelligence on high-profile figures for Tehran.
In the newer plot, Israelis were contacted by Iranians using accounts with Hebrew or Israeli names, including some claiming to provide employment services in Jerusalem and Haifa.
Iran had hoped to convince the marks to carry out missions that would have harmed state security, the Shin Bet says, without detailing the tasks. It is unclear if any Israelis were successfully recruited or if any information was passed to Iran; no charges or arrests were announced.
The profiles uncovered by the agency included Telegram users, channels and bot accounts under the names: Itamar201020, Gal01110, Mariiyam1997, PAndersion198, hadas99, Ramon_nkl96, צבא העם (people’s army), VIP EMPLOYMENT, עבודה באזור י-ם והסביבה (work in Jerusalem and the area), and דרושים עובדים – חיפה (employees wanted – Haifa).
In several of the groups, an account named IRAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE had posted, offering “interesting and exciting” jobs with a high salary.
The posts included links where applicants were supposed to fill out personal details.
Several civilians who were contacted by the alleged Iranian accounts contacted Israeli security authorities and reported the suspicious messages, the Shin Bet said.
The agency called on the public to be vigilant online, refrain from handing over personal information to unknown accounts, and report any suspicious activity.
In January, the Shin Bet said it had uncovered attempts by Iranian intelligence services to spy on Israeli defense officials and gather information on civilians by using fake social media pages related to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Using fictitious social media pages and websites, the Iranian operatives also initiated gatherings near the homes of the families of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas and had bouquets of flowers and messages sent to their homes, the Shin Bet said.
That scheme was run by the same Iranian network behind attempts uncovered in December to recruit Israelis over social media to carry out spying missions, including an assassination, in exchange for money.
In that operation, individuals affiliated with Iranian security services contacted Israelis on various platforms and sparked an initial conversation using various deceptions. They then asked their marks to perform tasks such as photographing various sites and verifying addresses.
Attempts to recruit the Israelis are a “well-known method of operation of the Iranian security agencies,” the Shin Bet explained at the time.
In July of last year, the Shin Bet said it had uncovered an Iranian phishing campaign against Israeli civilians, mostly targeting state employees and researchers, in a bid to obtain intelligence on state policy.
According to the agency, Iranian operatives would contact Israeli targets on LinkedIn while posing as acquaintances, and the conversation would move to an email, where the operatives would either invite them to a conference by sending them a document with further details or sharing a research paper.
In 2021, Iranian operatives were found to have attempted to lure Israeli academics, business people and former defense officials abroad, in an effort to kidnap or otherwise harm them.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.