Shin Bet Accuses Iran Of Trying To Recruit Israeli Citizens As Spy Through Social Media

Illustration. (Pixabay/peterbwiberg)

JAKARTA - Israel's security agency Shin Bet said it had uncovered new efforts by Iranian agents to recruit their citizens to carry out spy missions for them in exchange for money through social media.

The agency said Iranians had contacted Israelis through various platforms in recent months, including X (formerly Twitter), Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram and used various scams, sparking initial conversations, reported by The Times of Israel December 22.

It said the perpetrators disguised themselves as real estate brokers, people interested in drone marketing, people asking for photo shoots, people interested in online dating, people looking for private investigators, courier services and other reasons.

The agents will then ask Israelis to carry out various missions in exchange for money, which the Shin Bet says "seems to be unrelated to security aspects, but are clearly meant to serve Iran and enrich their intelligence."

It was explained that Israelis who were recruited were asked to take pictures of various sites and verify addresses. According to the Shin Bet, some Israelis did not carry out these tasks and informed the authorities.

The Shin Bet said the attempt to recruit Israelis was a "known Iranian security agency operating method."

Since the outbreak of the Hamas-Israeli war in the Gaza Strip, the Shin Bet has identified "an effort for Iranian security forces to increase rapidly, by using digital space for the purpose of intimidation, conveying messages or advancing terror activities."

"The goal is to help Hamas in its war and undermine national resilience and Israel's war efforts, spread demoralization and deepen social divisions," the agency said.

The Shin Bet said they had also identified social media pages disguised as Israelis and "take advantage of the issue of hostages cynically and manipulatively, and even tried to act against the families of hostages and their bereaved families."

"A lot of information was gathered about the identity of the Iranian agent behind the fake profile," the agency said.

Meanwhile, a screenshot of the conversation released by Shin Bet appears to suggest an Iranian agent has asked one of the Israelis to carry out the killing of an unknown target.

The resident was seen asking for 70,000 euros for the attack. Meanwhile, Iranians said he would pay 10,000 euros upfront, and another 50,000 euros after Israelis showed pictures of the dead.

The agency also released audio recordings of an Iranian agent speaking in Hebrew, offering another 100 dollars to Israelis for unknown tasks.