Hundreds of Israeli citizens reported receiving suspicious phone calls on Saturday morning, allegedly from Iranian intelligence operatives attempting to recruit agents.
According to reports made to the Israel Police and the National Cyber Directorate, the calls came from unfamiliar numbers and featured pre-recorded messages in broken Hebrew. The message reportedly stated: “Iranian intelligence is looking for qualified agents.”
Officials from the National Cyber Directorate described the incident as a coordinated campaign aimed at intimidation and attempted recruitment. They confirmed that the calls originated from phone numbers beginning with the prefixes 03-6817 and 03-3067.
In response, the Directorate issued a public advisory urging people not to answer such calls. If the call is accidentally answered, the recommendation is to hang up immediately and avoid pressing any buttons during the call.
The agency also clarified: "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."
The police updated that, "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 statement added, "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".