Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Law enforcement across Bucks County and the nation were hit were 9-1-1 calls about bomb threats Thursday afternoon.
The calls received in Bucks County, according to multiple sources, appear to be linked to an extortion spam email that said facilities had explosive devices planted in them and they would go off if a $20,000 ransom was not paid via Bitcoin, a decentralized digital cryptocurrency that has fluctuated wildly in value over the past year.
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An email received and posted on social media:
https://twitter.com/richardkzack/status/1073302563221590017
In Middletown, Reedman Toll Auto World received a bomb threat shortly before 2 p.m., two sources said.
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Middletown police Lt. Pete Feeney said a sales building was cleared of staff and customers and searched. No explosives were found and the incidents appears to be noncredible, but has been sent to detectives.
This news organization was working to confirm the locations of other places that were hit with the threat, but sources said the handful of threats were in the lower and central portion of the county.
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Bucks County spokesman Larry King said he was aware of reports of threats, but was awaiting more information.
NBC News reported that news organizations, government offices, public spaces, and many businesses in the United States received the emails. The Penticton Herald also reported that dozens of car dealerships in Canada received similar emails.
New York City Police Department Counterterrorism Chief James R. Waters tweeted that all the threats in the city appeared to be unfounded.
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