Many Israeli citizens on Thursday morning reported receiving Iranian "phishing" messages on their mobile devices, coinciding with missile barrages fired from Iran towards Israel.
The fraudulent messages, sent by a source claiming to be the Home Front Command, urged citizens to download a new app supposedly designed to assist them during their stay in a protected area. In reality, the message contained a malicious link aimed at installing spyware and extracting private and sensitive information stored on the mobile phone.
In addition to the digital hacking attempts, many Israelis received messages allegedly sent by the "Revolutionary Guards," containing blatant threats and calls to leave the country.
One of the text messages read, "Netanyahu is dead. Death is nearing you, and soon the gates of hell will open before you. Before the fire of hell of the Iranian missiles destroys you, leave Palestine."
In response to the widespread attack, the National Cyber Directorate reiterated its security guidelines and made it clear that the Home Front Command does not send out app download links via SMS messages.
"The public is urged not to click on links from unknown addresses, not to provide personal details under any circumstances, and to only download official apps from recognized app stores," said the Cyber Directorate, emphasizing that in case of doubt, one should rely solely on the official information channels of the IDF and Home Front Command.