NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., said an alleged Iranian state actor recently targeted him with a phishing scheme disguised as a television interview request, in what he described as an apparent effort to access his personal email account.
“A skilled impersonator created something appearing just like Newsmax to attempt to do an interview with me,” Fine told Fox News Digital in an interview, explaining that his staffer began interacting with the message in email, as the office normally does, before realizing “the links didn’t work.”
The phishing scheme was allegedly designed to gain access to his personal Google account, Fine explained.
TRUMP SAYS ‘WE’VE GOT OUR EYES ON’ IRANIAN SLEEPER CELLS IN US
The incident comes after President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran in February, sparking an ongoing battle that the president has said will end in a matter of weeks as tensions continue flaring. The Trump administration argued Iran’s nuclear program and missile capabilities posed an urgent threat ahead of the U.S. and Israel launching joint strikes.
Fine said he did not “think the timing was coincidental” and that the alleged cyberattack occurred “literally the day after combat operations began.” The episode underscores heightened concern among U.S. intelligence officials about potential cyber and physical threats tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict, particularly against high-profile political figures.
The FBI confirmed earlier in March that an Iran-linked hacker group known as the “Handala Hack Team” breached Director Kash Patel’s personal email account. A bureau spokesperson said in a statement at the time that while the compromised information was “historical in nature” and contained no government data, the FBI had taken all “necessary steps to mitigate potential risks.”
According to Fine, he learned about the alleged cyberattack aimed at him when U.S. Capitol Police contacted him and said the outreach likely originated from an Iranian state actor.
Fox News Digital reviewed a copy of the correspondence, showing its email was spelled “news-max.org.”
Correspondence to Fine, also reviewed by Fox News Digital, confirmed that USCP said they had information that the outreach to Fine’s office could have originated from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and that the police wanted to set up a call with the FBI Cyber Task Force to further examine the matter.
DHS REMAINS UNFUNDED AS IRAN SLEEPER CELL FEARS SPIKE NATIONWIDE AMID SECURITY WARNINGS
“They proactively reached out to us,” Fine said, adding that he then reported the incident to the FBI and was told by the bureau that agents were “familiar with these actors in Iran.”
The FBI declined to comment. A source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that when the incident happened, the FBI was able to connect with Fine and opened an investigation into the matter. The status of the probe is publicly unknown.
Fine emphasized that he felt targeted by Iran and noted a broader surge in threats against him, including verbal threats and what he said was a recent separate incident of an impersonator approaching his home.
“I was clearly targeted. It wasn’t random,” Fine said, asserting that he was “the most visible Jewish Republican politician in America.”
MYSTERY DRONES FLY NEAR DC-AREA MILITARY BASE AS IRAN TENSIONS ESCALATE
Fine said that while he does not believe the alleged attackers could have gathered much information from his Google account based on his limited use of it, “the worst-case scenario is … they might be able to track my actual location,” which he said made him fear for his life.
Fine described the incident as “very stressful.”
Fine, a self-described “Hebrew Hammer” known for his staunchly pro-Israel positions, has advocated aggressive military action in Gaza and praised Trump’s joint offensives with Israel in Iran.
Fine, in a statement shortly after the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, characterized the mission as one rooted in saving western civilization.
“We are with you, Mr. President. We will cut off the head of the snake of Muslim terror, Bring lasting peace to the Middle East, And save the Iranian People. Bombs away,” Fine said. “The Muslim terrorists that run Iran have just indiscriminately fired rockets not just at the Jews of Israel, but 700,000 Americans who live there, 180,000 Christians who live there, at the ‘Dome of the Rock,’ the third holiest site in Islam, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, site of Jesus’s crucification. We are fighting back against this evil.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Newsmax, Google and USCP on Tuesday for any additional comment.
Read the full article here
