Russian Women Are Scamming ISIS for Money

Two Chechen girls reportedly scam ISIS jihadists for over three thousand dollars through social media for travel money to Syria-never intending to travel there to join the Islamic State and become jihadi brides.

The Chechen girls were recently caught by local Chechen police for allegedly leading on ISIS recruiters for cash and then bailing on their trips to Syria, according to Russian website Life News.

The two girls had apparently been contacted over the Internet by members of the Islamic State through Facebook, and decided to play along.

They were willing to go fight, the women reportedly said, if they were given travel funds. For ISIS recruiters, who often shower their online targets with money and gifts, it was a usual request.

The jihadi would-be brides never showed up in Syria. They had scammed ISIS with the classic Russian mail order bride scam. After the wire transfers came through, the Chechen girls would block the ‘Jihadi John’ they’d been communicating with and disappear—then they’d repeat the process.

It’s unclear how long they managed the scheme, but the trio reportedly made around $3,300.

The two girls are reportedly being held by the Chechen government for fraud and could serve up to 6 years in prison.