Sacramento and Placer counties receive multiple false bomb threats in nationwide scare

At least eight people in Sacramento region have received a spam email that is circulating across the nation, containing a bomb threat and asking for payment in bitcoin.

Four reports were filed with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, and another four in Placer County in the last few hours, according to officials.

The email says that an explosive device will be activated if the recipient does not pay $20,000 in bitcoin, a cryptocurrency which is a form of electronic cash.

The reports have been forwarded to the high tech crimes unit and the explosive ordinance detail, but “there is no credible information that the threats are real,” said Sgt. Shaun Hampton, spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. “It’s a scam.”

Placer County Sheriff Lt. Andrew Scott said four threats were made in Placer County, including one to an employee of a county facility and three private businesses. A deputy was dispatched to the buildings that received the threat, but authorities determined the threats were not credible and no evacuations were ordered.

The San Francisco Police Department said on Twitter that it received reports of bomb threats “at numerous locations throughout the city.”

People around the nation reported receiving the email, leading to precautionary evacuations of dozens of businesses. Authorities in Oklahoma, Iowa and Massachusetts said they were investigating threats, but that they did not believe them to be credible.

This story was originally published December 13, 2018 at 12:31 PM.