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FBI Says Islamic State Used eBay, PayPal To Channel Money To the US (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the fake-transactions dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Islamic State allegedly used PayPal and fake eBay transactions to channel money to an operative in the U.S., The Wall Street Journal reports. The man who allegedly received the money was American citizen Mohamed Elshinawy, who was arrested last year in Maryland. The FBI claims that Elshinawy, in his early 30s, sold computer printers on eBay as a front in order to receive the payments through PayPal. The details have come to light because of a recently unsealed FBI affidavit, which alleges Elshinawy was part of a worldwide network that used such channels to fund ISIS. Elshinawy received $8,700 from ISIS, including five PayPal payments from senior ISIS official Siful Sujan through his technology company. Those funds were used to buy a laptop, a cellphone, and a VPN to communicate with IS, according to the affidavit. Sujan was killed in a drone strike in 2015. eBay told The Wall Street Journal it "has zero tolerance for criminal activities taking place on our marketplace." Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for PayPal said it "invests significant time and resources in working to prevent terrorist activity on our platform. We proactively report suspicious activities and respond quickly to lawful requests to support law enforcement agencies in their investigations."

8 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    PayPal gives you enough of a hard time getting your money when your legit.... They freeze funds at will and seemingly at random based on smallest complaint or suspicion... But activity like this gets by???

    1. Re:Wow by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But activity like this gets by???

      Uhh, it was $8700 over several months. The guy could have made more money if he just got a job at McDonalds. Maybe ISIS's "vast worldwide network" isn't such a big threat after all.

  2. The evidence? by nanoflower · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I hope the FBI has more evidence than the summary or the article has. All that they state is that he sold a cellphone, laptop and a VPN service to a company. That company happened to be owned by a guy associate with ISIS.

    Then they make the leap that the money paid was going to be used to plan an attack in the US. All of which may be true but unless they have the guy on record as planning an attack or captured his plans it's going to be hard to prove that case. So either the FBI has a weak case or this is a really weak article.

  3. Less than $1000 at a time by chromaexcursion · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've bought things internationally. Less than $1000 it's not a big deal. Probably an easy way to spoof the payment system. But it takes a lot of payments. Just sell as many Xbox3's as you need. If they're over priced, no one else will buy them. And, hey, no complaints.

    on a different note
    I needed to make a cash payment over $1000, for travel arrangements (in Italy). It took 3 trips to the bank, I had to be in person to sign, and multiple forms filled out. As an individual, international transactions are fantastically difficult. They're solving the wrong problem.

  4. His crime was selling stuff? by jandrese · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So they funded him by buying goods and services with money? Motherfucker, that's a JOB!

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
    1. Re:His crime was selling stuff? by denzacar · · Score: 2

      Many times I've stumbled on ridiculously overpriced items on ebay.
      Like clearly overpriced... well... plastic junk.

      I remember finding a silicone cover for my sister's phone - priced at over a 1000 dollars. The phone was about 170$ at the time.
      And that's not taking in account auctioned items where both sides can jack up the price for easy transfer of money.

      Hell... if you want to maintain appearance of legality, buy a year-old mobile phone, disassemble it and put each part up for auction.
      Ebay is full of overpriced parts for obsolete but arguably useful hardware.

      --
      Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    2. Re:His crime was selling stuff? by richy+freeway · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Many times I've stumbled on ridiculously overpriced items on ebay.
      Like clearly overpriced... well... plastic junk.

      I remember finding a silicone cover for my sister's phone - priced at over a 1000 dollars. The phone was about 170$ at the time

      I believe they jack the price when they run out of stock so they can keep the same listing active and not pay extra fees.

  5. Re:And in other news by BlueStrat · · Score: 2

    Frankly, I'm more afraid of the FBI than any Muslim.

    Being afraid of one's government having too much power is both logical and wise.

    More people have been killed by their own nation's government than have died in all the wars in recorded history, by orders of magnitude.

    Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

    Strat

    --
    Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.