Email Bomb Threat Determined To Be Hoax
Source: Area OPP
Date: Fri Dec 20 03:16:53 MST 2019
Yesterday around 12:00 p.m. a Seaforth resident opened up an email from an unfamiliar source that created some initial moments of fear and concern. The author of the email addressed the letter to her husband by first name and later on in the body of the email a threat was conveyed to her husband.
The threat read as follows:
"48HRS AGO WE PLACED 3 POCKET SIZED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES AROUND YOU IN THREE DIFFERENT PLACES, TO STAY ALIVE GO TO THE LINK"
Out of an abundance of caution members of the Perth County OPP Detachment were able to locate the intended target and confirmation was made that he was indeed safe.
These "bomb threat" scam attempts have been investigated by police services all over the world. Quite simply the scammers are playing on your emotions by instilling fear in order to get you to pay up. Often the scammer will request the victim to pay out a large sum of money in return for not carrying out the mission. Recent variations of this scam ask for payment to be made in the form of Bitcoin.
Huron OPP & the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre offer the following cyber-security tips:
Avoid opening email and email attachments from unknown sources, especially .zip files
Be vigilant against clicking on links within emails.
Ensure your anti-virus software is active and up to date and regularly schedule scans to search and remove already existing malware.
Never send money to "unlock" a computer.
Never click on a pop up that claims your computer has a virus, if you cannot access anything on the computer beyond the pop-up screen your computer is infected.
Keep your operating system and software up to date.
Watch out for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, these are signs it could be a scam.
Requests for money to be wired or paid through gift cards or bitcoin are sure to be a scam.
FRAUD - RECOGNIZE IT....REPORT IT….STOP IT….
Anyone interested in more information on fraud can contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or check online at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/.