Bitcoin Bomb Email Tops National News Today

There's a crazy Bitcoin bomb scare scam going on right now. Figured this was a good time to try writing a Minds blog for the first time. 

Hundreds of businesses and individuals across the country have gotten a spam email claiming they've planted a bomb and it will detonate unless they send a certain amount of Bitcoin to an address. 

You might have gotten this email. Check your spam, because apparently it's ending up there for a lot of people. 

On Reddit, u/I_am_trying_to_work shared the message he got, which reads in part: 

I write you to inform you that my man hid the explosive device (Tetryl) in the building where your company is conducted. My mercenary constructed the bomb according to my guide. It can be hidden anywhere because of its small size, it is impossible to damage the building structure by this explosive device, but in the case of its detonation there will be many wounded people. I want to offer you a transaction. 20'000 usd is the cost for your life. Pay it to me in BTC and I ensure that I have to call off my man and the bomb will not explode. But do not try to deceive me- my warranty will become actual only after 3 confirmations in blockchain network... Nothing personal, if I do not receive the bitcoin and the bomb detonates, next time other companies will send me more money, because it isnt a single incident.

Most sysadmins are noting that this is obviously spam, but the FBI has to investigate because it's a bomb threat. If you get one too, you should contact the FBI or your local police and let them know. 

The subject email on these varies, according to people who've received the message. Sometimes it reads "Do not panic," "Do not waste your time," "Better listen to me," or even just "Bomb is in your building." 

The NYPD said on Twitter that the threats appear to just be a way to cause disruption or get money, but they've been deemed as not credible. 

Whoever's doing this could be in some serious trouble. CCN reported that an American-Israeli teenager who made a living off Bitcoin bomb threats was sentenced to a decade in a Tel Aviv prison.  

If you want more details, one of my colleagues wrote an article about what's happening here. 

Did you get an email today? 

(Photo shared under a Creative Commons license by  CreditRepairExpert Steven Millstein on Flickr.)