Recycled Smartwatch Numbers Expose Israeli Children to Harassment and Terror Links
Recycled phone numbers assigned to children's smartwatches in Israel are exposing minors to inappropriate calls, drug orders, and contacts linked to former owners, including suspected terror operatives. Parents are urged to vet new SIM cards.
Parents in Israel are raising urgent concerns after a Facebook post revealed a troubling loophole regarding phone numbers assigned to children's smartwatches. It appears that recycled SIM cards are exposing young children to harassment, drug solicitations, and contacts from the previous owners' networks.
A Stranger on WhatsApp
The issue came to light when a mother discovered that the phone number linked to her daughter's smartwatch was connected to an active WhatsApp account, even though the watch itself does not support the application.
To investigate, the mother sent a message to the number. A stranger replied in real-time, asking, "Who are you?" and "What are you looking for?". Once she explained that the number belonged to her daughter's smartwatch, the WhatsApp account was promptly deactivated.
The mother emphasized that there was no evidence of a direct cyber breach into the watch itself. Instead, the incident points to a common telecom practice where inactive phone numbers are recycled and reassigned to new customers before the previous users' social media and messaging accounts are fully unlinked.
Harassment and Terrorist Affiliations
The Facebook post quickly went viral, drawing hundreds of comments from other parents sharing alarming experiences with recycled numbers:
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Inappropriate Solicitations: One mother shared that her young daughter spent an entire day receiving phone calls from men asking "how much she charges per hour." The child, not understanding the nature of the calls, innocently asked her mother what they meant, leaving the parent in shock.
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Terrorist Association: Another parent reported that after activating a new number for his son, the device received hundreds of calls and messages in Arabic. A Google search revealed the number had previously belonged to a known terror operative. Although the father changed the number immediately, he noted that when he dialed the old number two months later, another child answered.
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Drug Orders: A third user reported receiving WhatsApp messages requesting drug deliveries ("10 grams," "2 grams") shortly after activating a recycled number.
Precautionary Steps for Parents
While these incidents do not indicate a security breach of the smartwatch hardware, they highlight a significant gap in how telecom operators manage recycled numbers.
Experts advise parents to thoroughly vet any new phone number before handing a connected device to a child. This includes searching the number on Google, checking its status on WhatsApp and Telegram, and monitoring incoming traffic for the first few days. If any suspicious activity is detected, parents should document the messages and request an immediate number change from their cellular provider.
