The FBI has said Iran is behind threatening emails sent to Democratic voters, warning them that if they don’t vote for Trump in the November 3 presidential election, they will face consequences. In the past two days, registered Democratic voters in Florida and Alaska have received threatening emails purporting to come from the far-right group “Proud Boys.
These emails use the subject line “Vote Trump or else…” and warn Democratic voters that they must vote for the Republican party and Trump or face the Proud Boys.
The emails Democratic voters receive state: “We have all your information (email, address, phone… everything). You are currently registered as a Democrat and we know this because we control the entire voting infrastructure. You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will hunt you down. Stand with the Republicans so we know you received our email and comply. We will know which candidate you voted for. I would take this email seriously if I were you.”
Some of the emails voters receive include the recipient's full name and email address, suggesting the information was obtained through compromised voter registration sites
Another email observed by cybersecurity ProofPoint included a link that directed recipients to a video, which falsely depicted hackers hacking into voter registration databases, modifying records , and casting fake votes.
FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe warned at a press conference yesterday that Iran and Russia have gained access to voter registration information and that Iran is using that information to send these threatening emails.
The FBI noted that it is unclear whether Iran and Russia obtained voter registration information through election system breaches, purchased the information from data scrapers or downloaded it from hacking forums known to share such information. While Ratcliffe said that the videos depicting breaches are not real, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently warned state and local election officials about security “gaps” in election system sites.
The two officials urged US citizens to remain calm and not to spread similar emails they receive in the future. Also, neither official presented any evidence during the press conference – both only made brief statements.
Alireza Miryousefi, Iran’s representative to the United Kingdom, denied allegations that the country wants to interfere in the US elections. Specifically, he stated the following: “Unlike the US, Iran does not interfere in the elections of other countries. The world is watching the desperate public efforts of the US to challenge the outcome of its elections at the highest level. These accusations are nothing more than another scenario that undermines voters’ confidence in the security of US elections and are absurd.”
