Bomb Threat Scammers Demanding Bitcoin From US Stores -Report

United States retailers have recently come under attack from scammers sending bomb threats. Kroger, Target, Walmart and Amazon’s Whole Foods Market, and many others have all received these threats with the callers adding that they would detonate bombs if ransoms in the form of gift cards, Bitcoin (BTC) or money are not paid. 

Retailers Bomb Threat: a Concern Worth Addressing

This trend has been ongoing for several months now and law enforcement agencies are currently investigating the situation.

Already, some stores in New Mexico and Wisconsin have been affected by such bomb threats. Some of these retail stores have attested to the fact that bomb threats demanding random are an unusual occurrence and it appears to be the latest form of extortion targeted at retailers. An employee from Whole Foods Market in a Chicago suburb received a call from a scammer demanding $5,000 worth of BTC.

According to the caller, a pipe bomb had been placed in the store and would be detonated if the ransom is not paid. In New Mexico, the scammer requested that money be wired to him. Also, he stated that if the employee involves the police, the bomb will go off. 

However, in both cases, the authorities were duly notified and the premises were evacuated immediately. But on searching, no suspicious object was discovered and no bomb went off.

FBI on the Bitcoin Scammers tail

More effort is being put into investigating these Bitcoin scammers. Based on a statement by the police, tracking the scammers via the numbers they call from has proved abortive because these numbers are usually blocked and so far, no one knows for sure if the numbers are connected by a larger systematic effort. 

On close examination, it has been discovered that no store has been called twice. The targeted stores only get such calls once. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is working closely with local as well as state law enforcement agencies to fish out these bad actors. These targeted stores have been advised to take the calls seriously but at the same time, no payment should be made to such callers. Instead, the employees should try to gather enough information from the caller.