Wal-Mart Bomb Threat Possible Part of Broad Scam: FBI
NEWPORT, R.I. -- A bomb threat that caused the evacuation of a Wal-Mart store here and forced employees to wire $10,000 to the caller looks to be part of a broader scam targeting businesses around the country.
The bomb threat in Newport occurred Tuesday morning, when an unidentified man called the Wal-Mart store saying he had a bomb and would harm employees. He also demanded that workers transfer $10,000 to an account, according to reports in the Associated Press. The store wired the money.
FBI spokesman Rich Kolko told the Associated Press that the incident appears related to similar cases in recent days targeting banks and stores near Phoenix, Detroit, Salt Lake City, and Philadelphia.
Kolko said the bureau was looking into whether the calls were being placed from overseas. He also said the FBI is compiling reports from local police departments to see if they can detect similarities between the cases.
However, he noted that there are already enough similarities to make a strong case that it's one person or one group who's responsible.
The bomb threat in Newport occurred Tuesday morning, when an unidentified man called the Wal-Mart store saying he had a bomb and would harm employees. He also demanded that workers transfer $10,000 to an account, according to reports in the Associated Press. The store wired the money.
FBI spokesman Rich Kolko told the Associated Press that the incident appears related to similar cases in recent days targeting banks and stores near Phoenix, Detroit, Salt Lake City, and Philadelphia.
Kolko said the bureau was looking into whether the calls were being placed from overseas. He also said the FBI is compiling reports from local police departments to see if they can detect similarities between the cases.
However, he noted that there are already enough similarities to make a strong case that it's one person or one group who's responsible.