The Israeli National Security Council published a warning to the public on Tuesday according to which Iran is increasing its efforts to harm Israeli citizens abroad by drawing them to meetings in various countries.
As part of this effort, Iranian agents attempted to draw an Israeli businessman to the United Arab Emirates in order to harm him.
NSC intelligence officials have learned that Iranian agents contacted the Israeli businessman through the Telegram app pretending to be the Farsi division of the Saudi Al Arabiya news agency, and attempted to lead him to meet with them in Dubai.
In addition, it was learned that the agents sent the Israeli malicious links and files to access his cell phone without his knowledge.
The vigilant businessman reported the suspicious conduct to the NSC which inspected the conversation. The inspection found that the characteristics of the conversation and the request to conduct an interview about the Iranian regime show that Iranian terror agents were behind it and it was an attempt to draw the Israeli to Dubai to harm him.
The NSC stressed that "this case emphasizes to the Israeli public the potential danger of contact with unknown individuals who make unusual messages on the internet. In particular, when the messages come with requests for personal details, information about travels abroad, and/or when files/links are sent to a cell phone/E-mail.
"To prevent and reduce the dangers of such actions, the Israeli public must retain privacy on social media and refrain from sharing details such as phone numbers, real-time location, and future plans. Sharing such details will help terrorist entities gather important information about the potential target and fit its message to them to increase the chances that they will answer positively to attempts to contact them and various offers. Likewise, at the beginning of a conversation with an unknown entity (business/academic/other), one should validate its identity and conduct direct conversations through various means of communication such as messaging through several apps and voice or video calls to confirm the identity of the individual who made contact," the NSC added.