NEW YORK, NY — The FBI confirmed bomb threats were sent nationwide Thursday afternoon demanding cryptocurrency payments. The threats were emailed to businesses, colleges and news outlets, though none have been deemed credible. Several law enforcement agencies, including the New York Police Department, confirmed the email had been sent to numerous locations. No devices have been found.
Bomb threats were reported in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, Colorado, Florida, Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Iowa and California.
“At this time, it appears that these threats are meant to cause disruption and/or obtain money,” the NYPD tweeted. “We’ll respond to each call regarding these emails to conduct a search but we wanted to share this information so the credibility of these threats can be assessed as likely NOT CREDIBLE.”
One of the emails obtained by Patch demanded $20,000, to be paid in Bitcoins by the end of the working day.
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“My recruited person hid the explosive device (Tetryl) in the building where your business is conducted,” the email read. “It was built according to my guide. It can be hidden anywhere because of its small size, it can not damage the structure of the building, but there will be many wounded people in case of its explosion.”
The email said someone was monitoring the building and would detonate the device should he notice any strange behavior, panic or police officers.
Twitter users reported receiving the same email.
So I actually just got a bomb threat in my work email today ordering me to send the person $20,000 via bitcoin or they will blow up my place of work…. 2018 is wild pic.twitter.com/sn0vVLwe6v
— Ryanocerous Grant (@TheeRyanGrant) December 13, 2018
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed it is aware of the threats. The TF and the FBI’s Washington Field Office said they are in contact with law enforcement partners to provide assistance.
“As always, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety,” the FBI said in a statement said.
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