'Do you remember me?' Deeply eerie, creepy voice greets people calling homes in Iran

Iranians living abroad trying to get in touch with their loved ones in the country are being greeted by a strange robotic voice. Associated Press heard the recordings and described them as "deeply eerie and disconcerting." No one knows who is behind the robotic voices on call, with some experts saying it could be Iran diverting international calls, while others think Israel could also be responsible. Ellie, a British-Iranian living in the United Kingdom, called her mother in Tehran, and got this response - “Alo? Alo? Who is calling?” After a few seconds, the voice said, “I can’t heard you." It then adds, "Who you want to speak with? I’m Alyssia. Do you remember me? I think I don’t know who are you," all in incorrect English.

The news agency reported that at least nine Iranians in other countries say they have been met by the creepy voice recordings. AP shared the voice clips with five experts, who think it could be "low-tech artificial intelligence, a chatbot or a pre-recorded message to which calls from abroad were diverted." Four of them think the Iranian government is behind the eerie voice on the call. One of them believes it could also be Israel.

Also Read: 1,000 kg nuclear bombshell: Why attack on Iran’s Bushehr plant could trigger catastrophic fallout

Israel and Iran are locked in a tense battle with each pounding the other with drones and missiles. Amid the ongoing situation, it has become impossible for Iranians in other countries to gain information about their family and friends as the government has imposed a widespread internet blackout in the name of "protecting the country."

Speaking to AP on condition of anonymity, some of these people shared the experience they had with the robot voices. A woman in New York heard the same message when she called her mother, and is completely creeped out. She calls it "psychological warfare". To hear an AI voice when calling your mom "is one of the scariest things I’ve ever experienced. I can feel it in my body," the woman said.

Also Read: ‘Won’t stop until we remove threat’: Israeli FM says delayed Iran’s nuclear bomb by ‘at least two or three years’

Another recording merely has the bot greeting the person in a foreign country with words of wisdom about life. “Thank you for taking the time to listen. Today, I’d like to share some thoughts with you and share a few things that might resonate in our daily lives. Life is full of unexpected surprises, and these surprises can sometimes bring joy while at other times they challenge us.”

Meanwhile, there are others who never get any response, and the phone keeps ringing endlessly. AP quoted Colin Crowell, a former vice president for Twitter’s global policy, as saying that the calls are likely being diverted to a default messaging system to ensure the calls are not completed. Amir Rashidi, an Iranian cybersecurity expert based in the US, said the Iranian government appears to be trying to thwart hackers.