Three Chechen Women Con ISIS For $3,300, Face Six Years In Prison

Three Chechen women found a quick way to make some extra cash by scamming the terrorist organization ISIS. It’s difficult for commentators to decide if the women should be praised for the illegal con, but most agree it’s not something most people should try.

The scam started when the women phished ISIS recruiters through fake social media accounts. Chechnya’s Muslim population has been a hotbed for the terrorist organization’s recruitment efforts, according to Yahoo News. ISIS will often try to convince Chechen people to commit violence in their own territory or deceive young women into marrying Islamist fighters.

But these women turned the tables.

They led the recruiters on by sending fake pictures, lamenting that they would love to join the fight in Syria, but they didn’t have enough money to travel. The terrorists offered to send $3,300 for travel expenses, and the women happily accepted.

Then they closed their accounts, deleted their social media profiles, and cut off all contact.

It would have been a perfect crime, but unfortunately for the con artists, they’re now under investigation by the Chechen police E unit. According to RT, the unit specializes in online crimes. E unit officer Valery Zolotaryov commented on the case.

“I don’t recall any precedent like this one in Chechnya, probably because nobody digs deep enough in that direction. Anyhow, I don’t advise anyone to communicate with dangerous criminals, especially for grabbing quick money.”

In the end, the con artists claim they never had any intention of leaving the country. One did think about joining the terrorist group for a little while, but she remembered what happened to other women who did.

She told LifeNews, “Many people I know did go, but I know no one for whom it turned out well.”

According to Fox News, ISIS may be a scourge for the border region in southwest Russia, but the police still intend to prosecute the scammers to the full extent of the law. If convicted, the women will face six years in prison for fraud.

The case also reveals that the recruiters were confident in transferring money. Usually, women traveling to Syria to join ISIS fund their own trip since wire transfers pose a risk to both sides. In this con, they seemed to have no problem.

For security reasons, police have not released the Chechen women’s names. After their con against ISIS, they may well have a target on their backs from very dangerous people.

[Image Credit: Getty Images]