April Fools' Day spoof

Russia's prank voice message: 'Press 3 for election interference'

But that didn't stop the Russian Foreign Ministry poking fun at the claims in an April Fools' Day spoof.

On Saturday it published what it said was a new automated answering message for the switchboards of Russian embassies around the world.

"You have reached the Russian embassy, your call is very important to us," the audio message begins. "To arrange a call from a Russian diplomat to your political opponent, press 1."

"To use the services of Russian hackers, press 2," and "to request election interference, press 3."