Recently, a number of United States retailers, including Kroger, Target, Walmart and Amazon’s Whole Foods Market, have been targeted by scammers who send bomb threats and demand ransoms in the form of gift cards, Bitcoin (BTC) or money. This alarming trend has been ongoing for several months, and law enforcement agencies are investigating the situation. So far, some stores in New Mexico and Wisconsin have been affected by these bomb threats.
However, on closer inspection, it seems that these bomb threats demanding random payments are an unusual occurrence and might be the latest form of extortion aimed at retailers. An employee from a Whole Foods Market in a Chicago suburb received a call from a scammer demanding $5,000 worth of BTC. The caller claimed that a pipe bomb had been placed in the store and would be detonated if the ransom was not paid.
A similar incident occurred in New Mexico, where the scammer requested money be wired to him, threatening to set off the bomb if the employee involved the police. In both these cases, the authorities were informed, the premises evacuated, and no suspicious objects were found.
It is interesting to note that no single store has been called twice, and the targeted retailers only receive such calls once. Tracking the scammers via the numbers they call from has proved challenging, as these numbers are usually blocked. It is still unclear if the numbers are connected by a larger systematic effort.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is working closely with local and state law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend these bad actors. The targeted stores have been advised to take the calls seriously, but not to make any payments to the callers. Employees are instead encouraged to gather as much information as possible from the callers, which could potentially help authorities in their investigations.
The blockchain community, on the other hand, is cautious of the implications this may have on the reputation of cryptocurrencies. While the use of Bitcoin may make tracking these scammers increasingly difficult, it also potentially increases the skepticism surrounding the technology. With such criminal activities on the rise, many may question the safety and legitimacy of digital currencies, even though countless legitimate businesses and individuals continue to embrace and benefit from the technology.
Source: Coingape
