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At least 12 businesses in Chicago and other cities across the United States are experiencing bomb threats that are demanding $20,000 in bitcoin to a specific BTC wallet or else they will ignite the bombs. Currently, the threats are being made towards news outlets, government buildings, banks, libraries, schools, and other businesses. The threats were reported across the west to east coast and forced temporary evacuations of buildings.
What Is Happening?
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According to a tweet, a company received an email regarding a bomb threat. Whether this is the same perpetrator that made the other bomb threats is still unknown.
The letter states,
Hello, There is an explosive device (Tetryl) in the building where your company is conducted. My recruited person constructed the bomb according to my guide. It is small and it is hidden very carefully, it is not able to destroy the structure of the building, but if it detonates there will be many wounded people. My recruited person is watching the situation around the building. If any unusual behaviors, panic or policeman is noticed he will power the device. I want to propose you a bargain. You pay me $20,000 in Bitcoin and explosive will not detonate, but don’t try to fool me- I guarantee you that I have to withdraw my man only after 3 confirmations in the blockchain.
It is my BTC address – 1LeReNiUgHNXvvR8Tpgqg1B5NZQOkEuXDY. You must pay me by the end of the working day. If you are late with the payment explosive will detonate. Nothing personal, if you don’t send me the money and the bomb detonate, next time other commercial enterprises will transfer me a lot more, because it is not a one time action. For my safety, I will no longer visit this email account. I monitor my bitcoin address every 30 min and after receiving the bitcoins I will give the command to my person to get away.
If an explosion occurred and the authorities notice this letter: We aren’t the terrorist organization and don’t assume any liability for explosion in other buildings.
Officials took immediate action to evacuate and help people who were affected. However, despite them believing the emails to be spam and not credible threats, they still followed protocols out of caution.
In Iowa, several bomb threats were made, but Sgt. Paul Parizek says the e-mail appears to be a hoax as there are similar threats coming in nationwide, according to 13 WHO TV.
Grand Rapids Police force believe so as well.
According to Reuters, they noted a similar case that happened last year. “The FBI has launched a query into the reported bomb threats, noting that a similar wave of threats to schools and other public buildings occurred about a year or more ago, but the authenticity of the latest batch was not immediately confirmed.” However, it was noted that there were some companies who actually paid the ransom demands according to the Verge, but whether it will happen again for this incident is unsure.
They also stated that the explosive also varied, as bombs such as tetryl, trinitrotoluene, and hexigen were named in various emails. Countries as far as Canada and the UK have also stated that similar bomb threats were received, prompting a train station shut down in Toronto.
When this happened, the FBI issued a statement to the public that they were aware of the bomb threats and is partnering up with local law enforcement to arrest the perpetrator. They also encouraged the public to “remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety.”
Where Were These Threats Being Made?
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Here are some of the places where they reported bomb threats.
- Lincoln County Middle School
- Dixie State University
- Downtown Detroit
- Bronx High School of Science
- WNDU Studios
- Facebook building in Menlo Park
- Raleigh, North Carolina.
- Columbine High School
- Four bomb threats at non-residential locations in Franklin
- Jewish Community Center at San Francisco
- Wiley Post Airport
- Atlanta
- New York
- Massachusetts
- Oklahoma
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Florida
- Iowa
- Michigan
- Utah
- California
- Toronto
- UK
So far, none of the threats have been deemed as credible. There have been no injuries reported nor explosives that have been found.
