[P]olice say email bomb threats sent by email to UVM, WCAX, the Burlington Police Department and many other places were not credible.
The emails claimed that a bomb would go off in the WCAX building if the company did not pay $20,000 in bitcoin by the end of the day, the news organization reported late Thursday afternoon.
Burlington police tweeted that “at this time, there is no reason to believe there are actual devices anywhere.”
Adam Silverman, spokesperson for the Vermont State Police said scammers targeted at least 15 locations in Vermont, including a bank, a business in Franklin County and a town office in the Northeast Kingdom. Private individuals have also received threats.
“It’s the next evolution in the Nigerian prince scam,” Silverman said.
The Vermont State Police and local police departments have responded to the locations “by doing what is necessary to make sure no device is going off,” Silverman said.
The threats were part of an apparent national hoax that affected dozens of businesses, media companies and institutions, according to The Verge. The Cedar Rapids Police Department in Iowa, Oklahoma State Police, the New York Police Department and a subway station in Toronto have reported the scam. MSP Fusion, a business based in Boston, also received the threat, according to WCVB. Institutions and companies in New Hampshire received more than 10 threats, Silverman said.
“This is a drain on police resources across the country,” Silverman said.
State police have received reports of threats from four entities at UVM; Garvey Auto in Rutland; the Tarrant Foundation in Winooski; the Ski and Ride School at Sugarbush and West Hill Inn, both in Warren; Century Arms in Fairfax; the South Burlington Police Department; the Groton Town Hall; and individuals in Middlebury and Montpelier.
The Vermont State Police and FBI are investigating.
