eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) has had to defend itself after it emerged that terrorists might have found a way of using its expansive e-commerce network to channel funds for financing domestic attacks. A senior Islamic State official reportedly used phony transactions to funnel money to an operative living in the U.S.
Unsealed FBI affidavits indicate that Maryland-based, Mohamed Elshinawy, received money on the pretense of selling computer printers on eBay. The network operated by the senior ISIS official killed in Syria in 2015 was reportedly used to channel funds from the United Kingdom, the US and Bangladesh.
Prior to his arrest Elshinawy had pledged allegiance to ISIS according to the FBI. It has also emerged that he had received a total of $8,700 from the fake eBay account from five individuals associated with the terror causing group.
Participants in the network reportedly used the funds to purchase military supplies used for carrying out surveillance as well as bug-sweeping equipment. Elshinawy is reported to have used funds from the eBay network to buy a laptop a cell phone and VPN.
ISIS Evolution
The arrest of the Maryland-based ISIS operative suggests how Islamic state continues to exploit holes in the vast online financial world as it looks to propagate its agenda. The case also raises questions as to whether there are other fake accounts on eBay purporting to be selling goods but essentially being used to channel funds for unknown purposes.
PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) which is normally used on eBay to send and receive payments has already sought to defend itself from the ‘illegal’ practices reiterating that it spends time and resources to curtail such practices.
“We proactively report suspicious activities and respond quickly to lawful requests to support law enforcement agencies in their investigations,” PayPal in a statement.
eBay is not the first nor the only online portal to be a target by ISIS for propagating its agenda. Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR), Telegram, as well as YouTube, have also been targeted as recruitment and radicalizations media. The terrorist group has gone as far as creating an educational app targeting children.
eBay was up by 0.17% in Friday’s trading session to end the week at $35.5 a share.
