What is going on here?
Dozens of bomb threats being reported at news outlets, government buildings, banks, libraries, schools and other businesses across the US, various local media and police depts. report.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 13, 2018
And the number varies…
WABC-TV: "Hundreds" of bomb threats sent to schools and businesses across the country.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) December 13, 2018
But the reports are EVERYWHERE:
Dozens of places including universities, courthouses and newspapers are responding to emailed bomb threats. The FBI says it's aware. https://t.co/oAWSAZF5ej pic.twitter.com/v3eZuq3OQH
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) December 13, 2018
Whoa… what?
NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau:
“We are currently monitoring multiple bomb threats that have been sent electronically to various locations throughout the city. These threats are also being reported to other locations nationwide and are not considered credible at this time."
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 13, 2018
FBI: “We are aware of the recent bomb threats made in cities around the country … As always, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety.”
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 13, 2018
But here’s the thing… it looks like it might all be an elaborate Bitcoin scam:
Please be advised – there is an email being circulated containing a bomb threat asking for bitcoin payment. While this email has been sent to numerous locations, searches have been conducted and NO DEVICES have been found. pic.twitter.com/7omOs13Z7Q
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 13, 2018
At this time, it appears that these threats are meant to cause disruption and/or obtain money. 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.
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 13, 2018
The Bitcoin-spam-scammers have moved on from fake blackmail threats to fake bomb threats. So far no-one's paid anything to the address, and I suspect it'll stay that way. pic.twitter.com/N5MOdmu8Jm
— Tom Scott (@tomscott) December 13, 2018
This is gross.