Israeli Cyber Authorities Warn of Malicious Links in Official Government SMS Threads
Translated & summarized from Behadrei Haredim by baba
Israeli cyber authorities warned of phishing SMS messages with malicious links appearing within official GOV.IL message threads due to device display vulnerabilities, urging the public to avoid clicking links and report suspicious messages. This follows a similar recent phishing alert involving the Pango payment service.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Phishing SMS messages with malicious links appeared within official GOV.IL SMS threads in Israel.
- No breach of GOV.IL systems occurred; the issue is due to SMS display on certain devices.
- Authorities advise not to click links or enter personal/payment details from suspicious messages.
- Public should verify payment requests by accessing official sites independently.
- Similar phishing attempts were reported a day earlier targeting Pango payment service.
- Suspicious messages should be reported to the 119 hotline for investigation.
The National Cyber Directorate and the National Digital Directorate issued an unusual warning on Tuesday after reports emerged of phishing SMS messages impersonating GOV.IL appearing within the official government SMS threads on users' devices. These fraudulent messages included requests for payments and contained malicious links. However, investigations confirmed that there was no breach of the GOV.IL systems; instead, the issue stemmed from how certain devices display SMS messages, allowing fake messages to appear embedded within authentic government message threads.
The cyber authorities are actively working to address the malicious links and advised the public not to click on any suspicious links, avoid entering personal or credit card information, and to verify payment requests by independently accessing official government websites or personal accounts rather than through message links. They also urged anyone receiving suspicious messages to report them to the 119 hotline.
This alert follows a similar warning just one day earlier concerning phishing attempts targeting the Pango payment service, where fake messages also appeared within the official SMS threads of the company. In both cases, the authorities emphasized that despite the messages appearing legitimate within official threads, they could lead to fraudulent sites designed to steal personal information. The public is advised to access official apps or websites directly to confirm any payment demands.
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