From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
American-Israeli bomb threats suspect offered services on dark net
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleUS authorities say an American-Israeli Jew charged with threatening to bomb Jewish community centers and schools across the United States had offered to sell his threat-making services through an online black market.
Recently unsealed court documents link the 18-year-old — whose name is barred from publication in Israel by court order — to a posting on the now-shuttered illicit marketplace AlphaBay advertising a “School Email Bomb Threat Service.” The poster offered to send customized threats to schools for $30, plus a surcharge if the buyer sought to have someone framed.
Authorities say he made 245 threatening calls, mostly to community centers and schools, from January to March, using an online calling service that disguised his voice and allowed him to hide his identity. The threats led to evacuations, sent a chill through Jewish communities and raised fears of rising anti-Semitism.
He was arrested in March in Israel and has been charged in federal court in Orlando, Florida, with 28 counts of making threatening calls and conveying false information to police.
American and European law enforcement officials announced last month they had shuttered AlphaBay, which they called the world’s leading “darknet” marketplace that traded in illegal drugs, firearms and counterfeit goods.
— AP
The Times of Israel Community.