Since the beginning of 2023, law enforcement in the United States has been directing its efforts to clear up a series of bomb threats that have been issued against different businesses in the country. The alleged perpetrators of these threats demand compensation in the form of bitcoin (BTC)gift cards or cash, in exchange for not detonating the explosives.
According to a publication in The Wall Street Journal, several businesses, including Walmart, Kroger and Whole Foods Market in Amazonhave been the target of these threats and more than 1,500 have already been registered in recent months.
One of the threats, occurred in an Amazon Whole Foods Market, the perpetrator demanded a payment of $5,000 in Bitcoin to defuse an alleged bomb within the commercial precinct. Unfortunately these actions in stores are beginning to be more and more.
They pay in Bitcoin or we blow everything up
It is almost unbelievable, but since the beginning of this year 2023, fraudulent bomb threats, used as a mechanism to extort Bitcoin, They have positioned themselves among the most recurring monetary blackmail strategies in the United States. However, it is quite unusual for criminals to demand cryptocurrency ransoms, as they often opt for fiat money to facilitate money laundering and have immediate access to the funds.
It is worth mentioning that, in the execution of extortion and fraud, criminals tend to target smaller targets, instead of large shopping centers or establishments of considerable size. In fact, Bitcoin-related scams are commonly deployed in the digital realm, rather than in physical space. Therefore, bomb threats in physical stores are not exactly the conventional methods of obtaining cryptocurrency.
Fountain: TWSJ
