FBI Investigates String of Store Threats (Bomb Threats-Some Stores Caved)

[RamboLiberal]

Source: My Way News/AP

Large grocery and discount stores across the country have been targeted by a caller who threatens to blow up shoppers and workers with a bomb if employees fail to wire money to an account overseas, authorities said.

Frightened workers have wired thousands of dollars - and in one case took off their clothes - to placate a caller who said he was watching them but may have been thousands of miles away. The FBI and police said Wednesday they are investigating similar bomb threats at more than 15 stores in at least 11 states - all in the past week.

"At this point, there's enough similarities that we think it's potentially one person or one group," FBI spokesman Rich Kolko said from Washington.

No one has been arrested, no bombs have been found, and no one has been hurt, though the calls have triggered store evacuations and prompted lengthy sweeps by police and bomb squads.

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In Newport, employees at a Wal-Mart got three calls Tuesday morning and wired three payments totaling $10,000 to an account out of the country, Sgt. James Quinn said. A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said the company was assisting in the investigation, but offered no further comment.



Read more: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070830/D8RB656O0.html

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Who's the idiots who wired $10,000 or took off their clothes. Grocery chain local to my area - Giant Eagle have gotten threats - I'm hoping they are not among the easily scared. Read the part where he told them to cut off a manager's fingers and an employee actually got a butcher knife!!!!!!!

[MaineDem]

1. This happened in a small town in Maine yesterday

Millinocket bomb threat linked to big scam

MILLINOCKET — A bomb threat at a supermarket on Wednesday appears to be part of a nationwide scam targeting banks and retailers, police said.

The state police tactical squad was called to the Hannaford supermarket after an employee arrived to find the doors locked and employees and customers sitting inside in a circle, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

It turns out a bomb threat was called into the store, McCausland said.

...

At 11:30 a.m., about 40 customers and employees were released from the store unhurt. The store remained closed to allow state police time to sweep the store with bomb-sniffing dogs and for employees to receive counseling.

The caller warned of a bomb and told employees to lock the front doors, to make everyone sit in a circle and to send an undisclosed sum of money through Western Union, said Caren Epstein, Hannaford's spokeswoman in Scaborough.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=130717&ac=PHnws

[jaksavage]

2. Karl Rove with time on his hands.

[high density]

5. Yeah... this is setting off my BS meter

PSYOP.

Too bad people just cower and comply. I hope that if I was in the situation I would just ignore them and go about my business. I certainly wouldn't take my clothes off for them unless they were right there with a knife to my throat.

[RamboLiberal]

6. This reminds me of email phishing and email extortion

And IMHO you have to be an idiot to comply. Like you said, they'd have to have a weapon at my throat before I'd comply and even then I'm not sure my inclination wouldn't be to just fight back.

Wonder if the dummies who wired money will be fired by their companies. Meanwhile Home Depot employees who fought back against thieves got fired.

A former Home Depot employee said the company fired him and three other workers because they helped police catch several suspected shoplifters in May.

Midwest City police said the men helped officers catch suspected shoplifters as they tried to run from a store with lawn equipment.

An internal memo from Home Depot outlines that associates cannot accuse, detain, chase or call the police on any customer for shoplifting. However, one of the fired employees said the company is selective in enforcing that policy.

"The loss-prevention guy at our Shields (Boulevard) store turned around and told me all we need to do is tell the shoplifter to have a good day as they leave the store. I said that just doesn't make sense."

http://www.koco.com/news/13441545/detail.html

[annabanana]

7. lololol!. . . Too, too plausible..

Can't you just see him in his pine-finished rec room with the shakes? "must disinform. . .must scare. . must manipulate"

[Connie_Corleone]

3. Let's hope our country never gets invaded.

With idiots like the ones in the story, they will wave the white flag in no time.

[lonestarnot]

4. Took their damn clothes off?

OMG why does that just strike me as funny. :rofl: maybe I stayed up too late.

[annabanana]

8. Land of the Freaked, Home of the

loaded diapers. .

[lonestarnot]

9. Feaked or feaks,

:rofl:

[Feron]

10. It reminds me of this story:

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2684890">Link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_R._Stewart">More