Amazon.com's New Promotional Plan

Want to generate more online sales? Start talking about terror attacks on U.S. shopping malls right before Christmas:

The FBI is warning that al Qaeda may be preparing a series of holiday attacks on U.S. shopping malls in Los Angeles and Chicago, according to an intelligence report distributed to law enforcement authorities across the country this morning.

The alert said al Qaeda "hoped to disrupt the U.S. economy and has been planning the attack for the past two years."

Law enforcement officials tell ABCNews.com that the FBI received the information in late September and declassified it yesterday for wide distribution.

The alert, like similar FBI and Department of Homeland Security terror alerts issued over the past five years at holiday times, raised questions about the credibility of the information.

The bulletin acknowledges that U.S. intelligence officers are uncertain as to whether the information is real, and intelligence officers say there is a concern that it could be "disinformation."

This would be a clever way for online retailers to boost their business. And since I'm not above benefitting from a little disinformation myself, if you plan to purchase stuff from Amazon.com, be sure and start your purchase by clicking on the Amazon link in the right hand sidebar, or click here. Your pricing will be just the same, but Amazon kicks a small commission back to HolyCoast.com.