Fake texts order Americans to report for military service in Iran -- or face jail

Cell phone users have received text messages ordering them to report for a military draft or face jail -- but the military says they're fake.

Fraudulent text messages went out this week following the assassination of Iranian general Qassim Suleimani notifying individuals they had been selected for the draft, as President Donald Trump ordered the emergency deployment of 3,500 paratroopers to Kuwait, reported the Army Times.

"(We have) received multiple calls and emails about these fake text messages and wants to ensure Americans understand these texts are false and were not initiated by this command or the U.S. Army," the U.S. Army Recruiting Command said in a statement posted on its website.

The Selective Service System, which operates outside the Department of Defense, manages registration for the draft, not Army Recruiting Command, and did not authorize the messages.

“The Selective Service System is conducting business as usual,” the agency posted on Facebook. “In the event that a national emergency necessitates a draft, Congress and the President would need to pass official legislation to authorize a draft.”

Military officials are investigating the texts, but they haven't identified where the phony messages originated.

Recipients were instructed to call the sender before reporting to the nearest recruiting station “for immediate departure to Iran," and at least one recipient reported threats of jail time if they did not reply.

All men 18 and older must register for the draft, which was abolished in 1973, but registering for the the Selective Service does not enlist a person into the military.