Al Qaeda Friendly Internet Bulletin Board Posts E-Bay Users Personal Information
By Jeremy Reynalds (03/29/05)
Although they don't know it, Matthew Crawford, Julia Morrison, Lisa Moorhead and Jerome Schneewind all have something in common.
They belong or have belonged to on line Internet giant eBay and along with a number of other individuals, their personal information, such as date of birth, credit card number, social security number and mother's maiden name were posted prominently on a now closed Arabic bulletin board (www.almjlah.net/vb/showthread.php?t=5892&page=17&pp=10).
Reached by telephone, Crawford was shocked. He was totally unaware that his information had been available for the world to see. He said, "I am pretty nervous at the moment."
Crawford said he will contact his bank, close the account and see if he can obtain additional information.
Julia Morrison's mother Heidi said in a telephone interview, "I am really disturbed. This is a first. Nothing like this has ever happened. I don't know what to say."
Lisa Moorhead knew that her eBay account had been hacked and she had canceled her credit card, but she was unaware that the rest of her personal information was on line.
"I feel very open and I have no trust in anything anymore," she said in a telephone interview. "I feel very vulnerable as everything is out there for everyone to see. I won't be using eBay anymore and I probably won't buy anything on the Internet any more. It was one thing when it was just a credit card. Now everything is out there."
Jerome Schneewind, who has cancelled his eBay account, said in a telephone interview, "I suppose one should expect this sort of thing. It is unfortunate it happened because it will have the effect of having our government work for more erosion of civil liberties. I see the necessity for increased security, but I would hope we could preserve the freedoms that make the American way of life worthwhile while increasing security."
In an e-mail statement, eBay Spokesperson Hani Durzy said, "We are aware of the site, which has already been taken down. It appears that this information was secured as a result of a phishing scam, in which the victims unknowingly give their personal information to the perpetrator."
The Almjlah site is no stranger to controversy. According to a Jan. 31 2005 report from the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:CK7SY89agMIJ:www.uniraq.org/documents/Iraqi%2520media%2520Monitoring_13%2520Jan%25202005.doc+almjlah&hl=en&ie=UTF-8), www. www.almjlah.net was previously known as "Usamah's Islamic Forums."
The site was reportedly "dominated by participants who are strongly pro al Qa'idah."
The UNAMI also pointed out in the same article that wanted terrorist Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi has also made past use of the Almjlah web site for posting messages.
The report read in part, "Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi's Al-Qa'ida of Jihad Organization in the Land of the Two Rivers .... claimed responsibility for attacks on the Green Zone in Baghdad earlier that day. The statement posted on the Usamah's Memo site at www.almjlah.net/vb (previously known as Usamah's Islamic Forums) said that the group had ‘attacked the strongholds of the infidels' in the Green Zone. The statement warned of ‘fierce battles' to come and said that they would ‘continue their jihad until the flag of monotheism streams in the skies of Iraq.'"
The company hosting the site appeared to be www.dammamhost.com. False contact information was provided for the site administrators. The name and address read, "alshahab moh, dammam, dammam, sa 966, United States."
E- mails to Dammam Host asking for comment about the company's apparent hosting of the web site were not returned.
The Almjlah web site was apparently registered on June 28 2004. Its electronic home appeared to be the on the same computer as Dammam Host.
Dammam Host apparently rents computer hosting space from a company in the United States – www.fastservers.net. When informed about the content on the Almjlah bulletin board, a company employee said the site would be removed.
Within a few hours the site was no longer available on line.
Continually updated information on Internet terror and a large database of Internet terror sites is available at http://haganah.org.il/haganah/
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