Amazon removes [terrorist]-associated charity groups from Smile program

[SheltieLover]

https://www.engadget.com/amp/amazon-removes-milita-groups-smile-program-230923872.html

Note: i replaced "militia" with [terrorist] in subject.

Amazon has removed five groups that appear to be associated with the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, two militias the FBI is investigating for their alleged involvement in the January 6th US Capitol attack. Since 2013, the company has allowed charities to collect donations through the initiative. By buying an eligible product through the company, you can donate up to 0.5 percent of your purchase. According to Amazon, there are more than one million charities involved in Smile.

The fact a militia group may have hijacked the program was first spotted by Sleeping Giants, which shared a screenshot from the website of the Indiana Oath Keepers showing a step-by-step guide on how to support the group through Smile. CNET later identified two other organizations associated with the Oath Keepers, as well as one with ties to the Three Percenters militia, using the program in the same way. A spokesperson for Amazon told the publication it removed all four groups on Friday. It also removed one associated with the Texas chapter of the Three Percent movement.

It’s not clear how the groups got into the program. On its website, Amazon says Smile is open to 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. All five groups Amazon removed from the program are registered nonprofits. There appear to be more militia groups Amazon has yet to remove. We’ve reached out to the company for additional information and comment, and we’ll update this article when we hear back.

More at link.

On edit afterthought: how difficult is it to remove non-profit designation and can IRS charge them for taxes not previously paid? Criminal convictions possible?

[uponit7771]

1. K&R, looks like the racist terrorist groups want to slink into every part of life in the US

[SheltieLover]

2. Putin is playing every angle!

They must be cut off at the knees!

[hlthe2b]

3. "Not clear how the groups got into the program" Are you kidding? How are these groups at ALL

charitable groups like ASPCA (my personal pick) or any of the others? How could this not have been a major red flag from the start?

[Duppers]

4. Exactly!

TY.

[SheltieLover]

8. Maybe they submit paperwork for nonprofit designation?

I hope every one loses this designation & is FORCED to pay back taxes & leaders charged with tax evasion!

And that every person who donated through these programs is fully investigated!

Putin is not missing a beat, is he?

[Duppers]

5. Love your edit!

Great questions too!

👍

[SheltieLover]

9. Ty!

Calling these terrorists militias lends tgem a subtle credibility that I am not willing to budge on.

IRS - get on it! Investigate, retract nonprofit status, charge back taxes & charge them criminally for tax evasion. Meanwhile, investigate EVERY person who designated these terrorist orgs as benefactors & fully prosecute as the law allows.

Don't forget, Kroger found the same thing!

Putin is playing every angle.

[ananda]

6. Good, it's a start.

I donate to Planned Parenthood through Smile.

[OldBaldy1701E]

7. $ure it's not...

"It’$ not clear how the group$ got into the program$$$."

Yeah, I bet it is not clear at all. And, as far as getting a 501c... that can't be too difficult. There are plenty of them that I still cannot see a reason to be designated as such. But, when you live in a two-tiered society, the upper tier gets to do whatever they want, and the lower tier has to conform or die. That's fair, isn't it?

[SheltieLover]

10. Amazon likely just requires groups submit paperwork for non profit status

Remember, Kroger found the same thing!!!

[OldBaldy1701E]

18. Yes

I was referring to the fact that it seems to be pretty easy to get designated a 501c in this country. It seems more a matter of who you know as opposed to meeting any kind of reasonable criteria.

[TheBlackAdder]

11. AWS is also the #1 hosting service for most of our spam and spearphishing emails we receive.

.

They need to clean up that Wild West they are running too.

.

[SheltieLover]

12. Sounds like it!

[TheBlackAdder]

13. When you get a spam email, open the details. Do a command prompt nslookup on source IP. It's AWS.

.

Most likely it will redirect you to a non-AWS domain, but the scam email is generated from dynamically created AWS web service accounts that spammers pay $1 for each/month as trials.

.

[SheltieLover]

14. Wow! I didnt realize this! Ty!

I don't open spam.

This sort of bs needs to stop.

[SheltieLover]

15. Putin's not missing a trick, is he?

I wonder if this is same service that continually generates different email addresses to send spam from? Not sure.

[TheBlackAdder]

16. Funny you should say that. I've set up an AWS account to report many of these.

.

I also go out to ICANN and report if they don't furnish their contact info. If they don't in 30 days, they get taken down. I also flag all as phishing attempts with my email provider. I also contact their hosting service to advise them of the scammer they are hosting. While they say they don't control what a site does, often that hostname disappears in a few weeks. If they post an address, most of the time it's with one of those mailbox chains and many of the same scammer addresses point to similar mailbox addresses. I gather up a few and send the mailbox company a list of the IPs and scam emails that they re providing a front for, and they get booted.

Going though this morning, I have several sourced from .ru domains. One from Portugal, one from Australia and a few hiding this information.

.

[SheltieLover]

17. Wow! Ty for your efforts!

I'm not a lawyer, so not sure how difficult this might be but, imho, any site originating from or in any way affiliated with, russua should be blocked in USA!

Have you seen this?

https://www.vice.com/en/article/3anj8w/russia-based-neo-nazi-terror-leader-offers-training-to-american-far-right

I have also noticed, esp towards end of voldermort's tenure that amazon is offering more & more russian made products. FUCK THAT! Block them!

One in particular comes to mind, Kilmat, an adhesive auto sound deadener. This is a knock off of Dyna Mat, which I believe is made in the States (not positive).

A friend bought this russian crap by mistake & installed it. Smells like hot asphalt. Won't that be fun in the hot summer?

Point is, russian businesses should NOT have any access to American markets! I'm sure there are many fine people there who, naturally, also hate putin. But his "friends" should not be active on our internet!