Iranian Scare Texts Flood Israeli Phones—Israel’s Cyber Directorate Says: Don’t Click Links

Overnight Tuesday, many Israelis received Hebrew-language propaganda messages—another apparent attempt by Iranian actors to wage psychological warfare against Israel’s civilians. Sent directly to citizens’ mobile phones, the messages included threats, recruitment attempts, and language meant to stir fear and undermine people’s sense of security.

One message read: "The Islamic Republic of Iran invites you to cooperate in the field of intelligence. To cooperate, contact Iranian embassies in various countries or one of the Iranian cyber operators online".

Alongside those, even more menacing messages circulated, seemingly designed to intensify public anxiety. Among the texts sent: "We promised you that soon you will see stars in the night sky that are not stars.. Soon you will see the sun in the night sky but..." Another message said: "We are buying your videos about Iran’s war against Israel".

Against this backdrop, data from the National Cyber Directorate points to a significant wave of influence and digital fraud attempts. This past March, the Directorate reported that since the launch of Operation "Lion’s Roar", about 1,300 reports were received by Hotline 119 from citizens who described intimidation texts and calls. According to the figures, about 77% of those reports were classified as phishing attempts.

The National Cyber Directorate warns this is a known tactic that uses messages to manipulate citizens emotionally. According to the Directorate’s statement, the texts are intended to push the public to hand over personal information to hostile actors—sometimes under cover—or, alternatively, to provoke fear and erode national morale.