{"id":41818,"date":"2020-01-08T00:51:23","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T00:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/01\/08\/military-draft-text-messages-are-not-from-the-army-officials-warn\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:33:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:33:10","slug":"military-draft-text-messages-are-not-from-the-army-officials-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2020\/01\/08\/military-draft-text-messages-are-not-from-the-army-officials-warn\/","title":{"rendered":"Army says text messages saying \u2018You\u2019ve been selected for the military draft\u2019 are fake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Don\u2019t fall for any text messages saying you\u2019ve been selected for a military draft, U.S. Army Recruiting Command warned in an urgent news release<\/a> Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fraudulent texts were sent throughout the country this week informing individuals that they have been selected for a military draft, the command said. The phony messages come amid heightened tensions with Iran<\/a> and after the emergency deployment<\/a> of 3,500 paratroopers to Kuwait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials have not yet identified the originator of the messages or the reason for sending them. Army Recruiting Command received multiple calls and emails about the fake texts, and although they reference actual recruiting battalions, they were not sent by Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have forwarded it on to our security personnel and they\u2019re looking into it,” Lisa Ferguson, chief spokeswoman for the service\u2019s recruiting command, told Army Times. \u201cWe received three screen shots but I\u2019ve heard from several other recruiters and public affairs officials about it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The texts instruct recipients to first call the sender before reporting to the nearest branch office \u201cfor immediate departure to Iran.” One of the messages threatened a recipient with a fine and jail time if they did not reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The draft was abolished in 1973, and the U.S. military has remained an all-volunteer force since then, though men 18 and older still register for the possibility of conscription. However, registering for the Selective Service does not enlist a person into the armed forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Were a draft to actually be enacted, it would be managed by the Selective Service and not the Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Selective Service System is conducting business as usual,\u201d a Facebook message from the Selective Service System reads. \u201cIn the event that a national emergency necessitates a draft, Congress and the President would need to pass official legislation to authorize a draft.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t