From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 8, 2024
Shin Bet says Iran once again using fake social media accounts to try and recruit Israelis
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Shin Bet security agency reveals a new batch of fake social media accounts it says were used by Iranian intelligence services in attempts to recruit Israeli civilians to carry out various tasks in the country.
The Iranian intelligence operatives contacted Israelis on social media and tried to get them to carry out missions that would have harmed state security, the Shin Bet says.
The profiles uncovered by the agency include Telegram users, channels, and bot accounts with the following usernames: 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).
The agency says it also discovered in several of the groups posts by an account named IRAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE, which had offered “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 Iranian accounts contacted Israeli security authorities and reported the suspicious messages, the Shin Bet says.
The Shin Bet calls on the public to be vigilant online, refrain from handing over personal information to unknown accounts, and report any suspicious activity.
The plans recently uncovered by the Shin Bet are not the first instances of Iranian operatives trying to target Israelis via social media.
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