An FBI affidavit recently unsealed reveals that investigators believed ISIS was using online auction site eBay as a way to funnel money to the United States with an eye toward financing terror attacks by American citizens.
The allegations are that one man, Mohamed Elshinawy, created several fake transactions selling computer printers on eBay and getting paid through PayPal,apparently from overseas ISIS operatives who told him to use the money for “operational purposes.”
Elshinawy told investigators about this, and plead not guilty to supporting terrorism, though he is still in federal detention, awaiting any trials he might face in the future. Where that stands isn’t entirely clear.
But eBay and PayPal both say they worked closely with law enforcement on the matter, and PayPal insisted that they are actively preventing any terrorist activity arising from PayPal accounts.
And in other news, ISIS is accused of breathing air which is a direct contribution to its activities around the world.
Really? While I completely agree that ISIS needs to be done away with, making an accusation like, “They’re using eBay! ERMAGERD!” only makes people thin less of efforts to defeat them. And, if they are using eBay for financing purposes, it tells them that someone’s on to them (unless it’s just a baseless ‘fishing trip’).