Authorities search the sender for bomb threats by e-mail
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Universities, courthouses and newspapers received them. We did not know if the threats were the same.
Local police in dozens of cities and counties are involved. It was the same for the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The recipient would receive an email stating that there would be a hidden bomb that could detonate unless the shipper received a Bitcoin ransom, the New Zealand police said. in Oklahoma City by a viewer who received him in his company. It is unclear whether anyone who received a threat on Thursday received the same email.
The message was identical to an e-mail warning posted by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, in Iowa, and similar to the descriptions of other threats published in the country's social media.
Cedar Rapids Police Department released: "Police The Ministry has found NO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE that these emails are genuine.It seems to be acting from a robotic email sent in any the region in the hope of making money go to the companies.We also received information that surrounding county businesses could have received email. "
CNN does not disclose the names of the Sender and recipient neither the peculiarities of the Bitcoin account.
Similar threats were sent before
It is not clear whether Thursday's threats could be related to a series of bomb threats sent via an online messaging service to recipients in several states since the end of August.
CNN learned that for more than three months, academic institutions, fed general and state law enforcement agencies, firearms warehouses and municipal offices of more than a dozen. States have received threatening emails considered as hoaxes by law enforcement authorities.
In a warning reviewed by CNN, the FBI recently shared information with law enforcement authorities at the national level about previous e-mails sent via a police service. Mail called "Guerilla Mail" hiding the identity of the senders.
The bulletin stated that the FBI had not identified any actual device or hoax at the threatened locations, suggesting that law enforcement considered at least some of the threats sufficiently credible to conduct research.
Threats in Universities, the Media and the Courthouse
In Seattle, the University of Washington noted in an alert broadcast at the campus level that the FBI had "indicated that email was not a credible threat". 19659002] The university has completed its work in potentially affected buildings.
The Thurston County Courthouse in Olympia, Washington, and the Park Record newspaper in Park City, Utah, also received letters of similar threats. After tweets on their verified Twitter accounts, people were allowed to go inside the buildings located at these locations.
In California, the Riverside Sheriff's Office had "an influx of threats by e-mail" and took them seriously, although no threat has been proven.
The San Francisco Police Department reacted to reports of bomb threats in various parts of the city.
"We have received reports that several US cities have received similar threats," police said.
The Pennsylvania State Police "investigates bomb threats in the east of the state," a department spokesman told CNN.
"The police at Penn State University, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are investigating message received from people spread across multiple campus and state sites," the university said in a statement. "The police say that this does not seem to be a legitimate threat, but an investigation is underway."
The university police then said that the threat seemed to be a hoax.
The Chicago Police Department received 15 to 20 reports by e-mail. According to Jennifer Bryk
Director of Communications, Anthony Guglielmi, tweeted on the theme "#ChicagoPolice is working with federal partners in the investigation." For the moment, there is no There is no high threat level for the city of Chicago. "
Threats were also emailed to the Charlotte News & Observer and Raleigh News & Observer newspapers in North Carolina.
According to the authorities, dozens of threats persisted in the country later in the day.
Threats spanning several countries
Emails in Vancouver, Ottowa and Toronto.
"We encourage Canadians to follow the instructions of local law enforcement officials and report suspicious incidents," said Scott Bardsley, Senior Communications Advisor for the Office of the Minister of Public Safety. Emergency Preparedness. "The resounding incidents are serious crimes and will be investigated by the police."
New Zealand authorities are aware of three similar incidents of threat e-mails demanding Bitcoin ransoms, according to a spokesman for the New Zealand police.
And the Australian Center for Cybersecurity (ACSC) has alerted a "widespread campaign of e-mail bomb threats".
"Under no circumstances should individuals respond to such e-mails or transfer money or bitcoins," said a spokesman for the CCSA. "As a precautionary measure, state police services treat these emails as a legitimate threat until proven otherwise.If individuals receive it, we encourage them to report the case to their local police department. . "
Staying alert
Although the threats are not considered credible, the police are still watching the issue closely.
The Colorado Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) activated Level 3 operations, indicating that the situation requires "enhanced surveillance and coordination," according to the agency.
The SEOC stated that the FBI Anti-Terrorism Working Group was the lead agency in the joint effort. According to SEOC's statement, the FBI reported that e-mails had been sent to more than 25 states.
And in San Francisco, police officer Michael Andraychak told reporters that all threats were currently under investigation and that bomb-sniffing dogs had been used. "We are taking all threats of bombs and destructive devices very seriously and investigating them thoroughly," said Andraychak.
Nearly 20 emails were sent to businesses in the city, said Andraychak, and the Jewish Community Center was self-evacuated
"As always, we encourage the public to stay alert and report without delay any suspicious activity that may pose a threat to public security, "said the FBI.
CNN's Jeremy Grisham and Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.
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