A series of bomb threats have been reported in B.C.’s Okanagan.

Businesses in Vernon, Penticton, Kelowna and Kamloops all reported receiving threats on Thursday afternoon.

In Vernon, RCMP are investigating threats to an engraving shop at on Kalamaka Lake, a Ford Dealership on Parkway Place and a commercial building on 24th Street.

Multiple bomb threats were received to three businesses in the 500 block of Duncan Avenue W. in Penticton.

A business at 2062 Harvey Ave. in Kelowna was evacuated due to bomb threats, with fire and emergency services staged three blocks away.

RCMP also evacuated a block on Seymour Street in Kamloops after a business there reported a bomb threat.

It is unknown if the threats are connected to a series of bomb threats sent to dozens of schools, government buildings and other locations across the U.S. on Thursday.

Law enforcement agencies have since dismissed those threats, which they said were meant to cause disruption and compel recipients into sending money and are not considered credible.

Some of the emails had the subject line: “Think Twice.” The sender claimed to have had an associate plant a small bomb in the recipient’s building and that the only way to stop him from setting it off was by making an online payment of $20,000 in Bitcoin.

“We are currently monitoring multiple bomb threats that have been sent electronically to various locations throughout the city,” the New York City Police Department’s counterterrorism unit tweeted. “These threats are also being reported to other locations nationwide & are NOT considered credible at this time.”

Other law enforcement agencies also dismissed the threats, which were written in a choppy style reminiscent of the Nigerian prince email scam.

The FBI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

More to come.

— With file from Associated Press</s>The Cincinnati Police Department is monitoring multiple bomb threats that have been sent electronically to various locations throughout the city.

These threats are also being reported to other locations nationwide.

According to the AP, businesses and schools across the U.S. were evacuated.

Many of the threats came in the form of an email, demanding $20,000 in bitcoin, a digital currency.

“You must pay me by the end of the working day, if you are late with the transaction the bomb will explode,” the email read. “We arent (sic) terrorists and do not assume any responsibility for acts of terrorism in other places."

Authorities said they are not considered credible at this time.

“Bomb threats are most commonly received via phone, but are also made in person, via email, written note, or other means. Every bomb threat is unique and should be handled in the context of the facility or environment in which it occurs. Facility supervisors and law enforcement will be in the best position to determine the credibility of the threat,” police said.

Police say to follow these procedures:</s>DETROIT - Dozens of bomb threats being reported at news outlets, government buildings, banks, libraries, schools and other businesses across the U.S. on Thursday afternoon.

In Detroit, the Guardian Building at 500 Griswold Street and the Wayne County Treasurer's Office at 400 Monroe Street in Downtown Detroit received bomb threats. Nothing was found.

The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office said their office was made aware of a bomb threat sent by email Thursday in Ann Arbor. The Sheriff's Office is investigating.

L'Anse Creuse High School - North also reported a threat. Students had already been dismissed.

The FBI in Detroit released this statement: “We are aware of the recent bomb threats made in cities around the country, and we remain in touch with our law enforcement partners to provide assistance. As always, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety.”

Around the country, Columbine High School, WNDU in Indiana and Capital University were among those evacuated for bomb threats.

Oklahoma City police said at least 10 bomb threats had been reported in the city. There are reports of up to 12 in Chicago.

Lincoln, Nebraska police said they've responded to six bomb threats. A Jewish Community Center in San Francisco was evacuated for a bomb threat. Threats were reported in Florida, Utah, Iowa, Maryland, New York, Virginia and North Carolina.

The threats apparently stem from a mass email where an unknown writer demands bitcoin in exchange for safety. Here's what it looks like:</s>London police confirm they were among several police departments across the country which responded to bomb threats on Thursday, connected to emails that demanded Bitcoin payments.

READ MORE: Bomb threats demanding bitcoin hit Australia, New Zealand; police call it a ‘scam’

The bomb threats in cities across Canada and the U.S. prompted evacuations at schools, businesses and public areas. Authorities say it appears in all cases that the scare was a crude extortion attempt.

In London, city police say they responded to a report of a bomb threat at a restaurant on King Street around 1:50 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

They say the restaurant was evacuated and searched, and nothing was found. Their investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, West Region OPP are investigating six threats including one in Middlesex Centre. Const. Max Gomez told 980 CFPL on Thursday that they believe the emails were hoaxes but police respond to every call to ensure public safety.</s>(Reuters) - A rash of bomb threats were sent via email on Thursday to dozens of businesses and public buildings across the United States and Canada demanding payment in cryptocurrency, but none of the threats was immediately found to be credible, law enforcement officials said.

Starting shortly before 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT), police departments in major U.S. cities coast to coast began reporting on Twitter that numerous local businesses had received the emails - awkwardly worded threats to set off a bomb unless a bitcoin payment of $20,000 were received.

More than two hours into the security scare, no actual explosives had been found, authorities said. But the threats prompted brief evacuations of a Toronto subway station and a newspaper office in Raleigh, North Carolina. Some public schools and business also were evacuated as a precaution.

Among the cities where bomb threats were reported by authorities on official Twitter accounts were New York, Detroit, San Francisco, Oklahoma City, Denver, Ottawa, and Calgary, Alberta.

Police at the University of Wisconsin in Madison tweeted an image taken of one email threat found to be circulating that said in part: “Good day. There is an explosive device (lead azide) in the building where your company is conducted. It is assembled according to my guide. It is compact and it is covered up very carefully. It can not damage the structure of the building, but in case of its explosion you will get many wounded people.”

Police in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, reported similar email threats received by several businesses there but had found “no credible evidence any of these emails are authentic.”

The FBI has launched a query into the matter but the authenticity of the latest batch was not immediately confirmed, a law enforcement official told Reuters.

“We are aware of threats being made in cities across the country,” Rukelt Dalberis, an FBI spokesman in Los Angeles, told Reuters separately. “We remain in touch with our law enforcement partners. We encourage the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities that could represent a threat.”

Multiple U.S. law enforcement sources told Reuters that no actual explosives had surfaced in connection with any of the threats within the first couple of hours of the scare.

A similar wave of emailed hoax bomb threats in December 2015 prompted officials in Los Angeles to close the city’s public school system, a move that national law enforcement officials later criticized as an overreaction.

That threat came two weeks after a married couple inspired by Islamic State killed 14 people at a California county office building in a shooting rampage.

A teenager with dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship was arrested in Israel in March 2017 for making bomb threats to more than 100 Jewish organizations and Jewish community centers (JCCs) in dozens of U.S. states over several months.</s>Dozens of bomb threats were emailed to news organizations, government institutions, schools and private businesses from coast to coast on Thursday, sparking evacuations, in what is now believed to be a nationwide hoax.

The NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau said in a tweet that the agency is monitoring the bombs threats, but they are not considered credible.

The NYPD later tweeted that there was an email 'being circulated containing a bomb threat asking for bitcoin payment.'

The awkwardly phrased letter, obtained by ABC Eyewitness News, appears to have been written by a non-native English speaker, possibly with the aid of a translation app.

It reads in part: 'there is an explosive device (Tetryl) in the building where your company is conducted. My requited person constructed the bomb according to my guide. It is small and it is hidden very carefully, it is not able to destroy the structure of the building, but if it detonates there will be many wounded people.

The unidentified author of the letter, who stresses that he or she is not part of a terrorist organization, goes on to say that the device will be detonated if police presence or panic is detected.

'I want to propose your a bargain,' the letter continues. 'You pay me $20'000 in Bitcoin and explosive will not detonate... You must pay me by the end of the working day. If you are late with the payment explosive will detonate.'

The thug then reassures the targeted business that the threat is 'nothing personal, if you don't send me the money and the bomb detonates, next time other commercial enterprises will transfer me a lot more, because it not not a one-time action.'

According to the law enforcement agency, the purpose of the threat was to cause a disruption and possibly obtain money,

Police said they have conducted searches at locations targeted by the treat but no devices have been found.

The FBI stated that federal agents are also aware of the unfolding situation in cities across the US, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago and Detroit.

'As always, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety.,' a tweet from the federal agency read.

One of the numerous locations in New York targeted by the threat was the prestigious Bronx Science High School, which was evacuated at 11am after receiving a bomb threat over the phone.

The caller claimed that a pipe bomb hidden on campus would explode in 20 minutes. The Emergency Service Unit later determined that there was no bomb at the school.

At least five locations in Manhattan were targeted and no fewer than 11 threats were made in Suffolk County on Long Island.

Columbine High School in Colorado was placed on lockdown this morning after someone called in claim that multiple bombs had been planted inside the school, which was the site of the infamous 1999 shooting that claimed 13 lives.

Penn State University in Pennsylvania notified students of a threat via a campus alert. Near Atlanta, people were ushered out of a courthouse.

A spokesman for the Oklahoma City Police Department revealed that around a dozen specific email bomb threats with addresses in and around Oklahoma City were sent out Thursday.

Some of the emails had the subject line: 'Think Twice.' Others opened with 'Better listen to me.'

The Palm Beach County, Florida sheriff's office and the Boise, Idaho police said they had no reason to believe that threats made to locations in those areas were credible.

Boston police said in a statement they had confirmed that the Boston Opera House had received an email threatening to bomb the celebrated cultural institution.

On the West Coast, two dozen threats were reported in Los Angeles, and in San Francisco a bank and a Jewish community center were evacuated as a precaution.</s>Bomb threats emailed to multiple locations across the country

(CNN) — Dozens of businesses and institutions across the United States and Canada received email threats Thursday afternoon, prompting evacuations and sweeps of buildings.

At this time it’s unclear if the threats — which have been received in San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Miami, Washington, DC and other locations nationwide — are connected. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they are aware of the threats and are working with law enforcement to provide assistance.

“As always, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety,” the FBI said.

Email threats also have been received in Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto, Canada.

Vancouver Police Department Sgt. Jason Robillard tells CNN that businesses have received threats. He is not aware of any buildings that have evacuated.

This email demanding $20,000 via Bitcoin was forwarded to CNN affiliate KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City by a viewer who received it at her business. It’s unclear whether everyone who received a threat on Thursday received the same email.

The message was identical to an email warning posted on social media by the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Police Department and similar to descriptions of other threats posted on social media nationwide.

The Cedar Rapids Police Department posted: “The Police Department has found NO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE that these emails are authentic. It appears to be a robo-email that has been sent throughout the area hoping to scam businesses out of money. We have also received information that businesses in surrounding counties may have also received this email.”

CNN is not disclosing the names of the sender and recipient or specifics of the Bitcoin account.

In Seattle, the University of Washington noted in a campus-wide alert that the FBI had “advised that the email is not a credible threat.”

The Thurston County Courthouse in Olympia, Washington and the Park Record newspaper in Park City, Utah also received similarly threatening emails. People have been allowed back inside buildings at those locations, according to tweets on their verified Twitter accounts.

In California, the Riverside Sheriff’s Office had “an influx of email threats” and is taking them seriously, although no threat has been substantiated.

The San Francisco Police Department responded to reports of bomb threats at locations throughout the city.

“We have received information that several other cities across the United States have received similar threats,” police said.

Pennsylvania State Police are “investigating some bomb threats in the eastern part of the state,” a spokesman for the department tells CNN.

“Penn State University Police, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is investigating a message received by individuals in multiple locations on campus and across the state,” the university said in a statement. “Police say this does not appear to be a legitimate threat, however, an investigation is ongoing.”

University police later said the threat appears to be a hoax.

The Chicago Police Department received 15 to 20 reports of emailed threats in the past few hours, according to Officer Jennifer Bryk.

Director of Communications Anthony Guglielmi tweeted, “#ChicagoPolice are working with federal partners on the investigation, and at this time there is no elevated threat level for the city of Chicago.”

Threats were also emailed to the Charlotte News & Observer and the Raleigh News & Observer newspapers in North Carolina.

Dozens more threats continued to come in across the country later into the day, authorities reported.</s>(Reuters) - A rash of bomb threats were sent via email on Thursday to dozens of businesses and public buildings across the United States and Canada demanding payment in cryptocurrency, but none of the threats was immediately found to be credible, law enforcement officials said.

Starting shortly before 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT), police departments in major U.S. cities coast to coast began reporting on Twitter that numerous local businesses had received the emails - awkwardly worded threats to set off a bomb unless a bitcoin payment of $20,000 were received.

More than two hours into the security scare, no actual explosives had been found, authorities said. But the threats prompted brief evacuations of a Toronto subway station and a newspaper office in Raleigh, North Carolina. Some public schools and business also were evacuated as a precaution.

Among the cities where bomb threats were reported by authorities on official Twitter accounts were New York, Detroit, San Francisco, Oklahoma City, Denver, Ottawa, and Calgary, Alberta.

Police at the University of Wisconsin in Madison tweeted an image taken of one email threat found to be circulating that said in part: “Good day. There is an explosive device (lead azide) in the building where your company is conducted. It is assembled according to my guide. It is compact and it is covered up very carefully. It can not damage the structure of the building, but in case of its explosion you will get many wounded people.”

Police in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, reported similar email threats received by several businesses there but had found “no credible evidence any of these emails are authentic.”

The FBI has launched a query into the matter but the authenticity of the latest batch was not immediately confirmed, a law enforcement official told Reuters.

“We are aware of threats being made in cities across the country,” Rukelt Dalberis, an FBI spokesman in Los Angeles, told Reuters separately. “We remain in touch with our law enforcement partners. We encourage the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities that could represent a threat.”

Multiple U.S. law enforcement sources told Reuters that no actual explosives had surfaced in connection with any of the threats within the first couple of hours of the scare.

A similar wave of emailed hoax bomb threats in December 2015 prompted officials in Los Angeles to close the city’s public school system, a move that national law enforcement officials later criticized as an overreaction.

That threat came two weeks after a married couple inspired by Islamic State killed 14 people at a California county office building in a shooting rampage.

A teenager with dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship was arrested in Israel in March 2017 for making bomb threats to more than 100 Jewish organizations and Jewish community centres (JCCs) in dozens of U.S. states over several months.</s>Authorities say bomb threats sent Thursday to dozens of schools, government buildings and other locations across the U.S. appear to be a hoax.

Law enforcement agencies across the country dismissed the threats, which they said were meant to cause disruption and compel recipients into sending money and are not considered credible.

Some of the emails had the subject line: "Think Twice." The sender claimed to have had an associate plant a small bomb in the recipient's building and that the only way to stop him from setting it off was by making an online payment of $20,000 in Bitcoin.

"We are currently monitoring multiple bomb threats that have been sent electronically to various locations throughout the city," the New York City Police Department's counterterrorism unit tweeted. "These threats are also being reported to other locations nationwide & are NOT considered credible at this time."

In the Lehigh Valley, officials with the Bethlehem Fire Department Bomb Squad conferred with Palmer Township police on a threat Thursday but did not respond, fire Lt. Lucas Fuller said. He said he could not confirm whether this was connected to the threats nationwide. An Allentown Fire Department spokesman was unaware of his bomb squad responding to any threats Thursday.

Along with the NYPD, other law enforcement agencies also dismissed the threats, which were written in a choppy style reminiscent of the Nigerian prince email scam.

The Palm Beach County, Florida, sheriff's office and the Boise, Idaho, police said they had no reason to believe that threats made to locations in those areas were credible.

The FBI didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Across the country, some schools closed early and others were evacuated or placed on lockdown because of the hoax. Authorities said a threat emailed to a school in Troy, Missouri, about 55 miles (88 kilometers) northeast of St. Louis, was sent from Russia.

This Slate Belt landfill stinks. But did its stench carry all the way to the Lehigh Valley?

The bomb threats also prompted evacuations at city hall in Aurora, Illinois, the offices of the News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, a suburban Atlanta courthouse and businesses in Detroit.

"Organizations nationwide, both public and private, have reported receiving emailed bomb threats today," Michigan State Police spokeswoman Shannon Banner said. "They are not targeted toward any one specific sector."

Penn State University notified students via a text alert about threats to a half-dozen buildings and an airport on its main campus in State College, Pennsylvania. In an update, the school said the threat appeared to be part of a "national hoax."

Officials at Columbine High School in Colorado were dealing Thursday with a bomb threat of a different sort. Students were being kept inside for the rest of the school day after someone called in a bomb threat against the school.

The Jefferson County, Colorado, Sheriff's Office said the caller claimed to have placed explosive devices in the school and to be hiding outside with a gun.

There is nothing to validate the threat was found at Columbine, where 12 students and a teacher were killed by two students in 1999, according to Sheriff's spokesman Mike Taplin.

Two dozen other Colorado schools were also temporarily placed on lockout, meaning their doors were locked but classes continued normally, as the threat was investigated.</s>Authorities say bomb threats sent Thursday to dozens of schools, government buildings and other locations across Canada and the United States appear to be a hoax.

So far, police in Canada are investigating threats in Winnipeg, Montreal, Calgary, Toronto, and Penticton, B.C.

In Toronto, police say they've received 10 threats but there have been no signs of any bombs.

Law enforcement agencies across the two countries dismissed the threats, which they said were meant to cause disruption and compel recipients into sending money and are not considered credible.

Some of the emails had the subject line: ``Think Twice.'' The sender claimed to have had an associate plant a small bomb in the recipient's building and that the only way to stop him from setting it off was by making an online payment of $20,000 in Bitcoin.

``We are currently monitoring multiple bomb threats that have been sent electronically to various locations throughout the city,'' the New York City Police Department's counterterrorism unit tweeted. ``These threats are also being reported to other locations nationwide & are NOT considered credible at this time.''

Other law enforcement agencies also dismissed the threats, which were written in a choppy style reminiscent of the Nigerian prince email scam.

The Palm Beach County, Florida, sheriff's office and the Boise, Idaho, police said they had no reason to believe that threats made to locations in those areas were credible.

The FBI didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Across the country, some schools closed early and others were evacuated or placed on lockdown because of the hoax. Authorities said a threat emailed to a school in Troy, Missouri, about 55 miles (88 kilometres) northeast of St. Louis, was sent from Russia.

The bomb threats also prompted evacuations at city hall in Aurora, Illinois, the offices of the News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, a suburban Atlanta courthouse and businesses in Detroit.

``Organizations nationwide, both public and private, have reported receiving emailed bomb threats today,'' Michigan State Police spokeswoman Shannon Banner said. ``They are not targeted toward any one specific sector.''

Penn State University notified students via a text alert about threats to a half-dozen buildings and an airport on its main campus in State College, Pennsylvania. In an update, the school said the threat appeared to be part of a ``national hoax.''

Officials at Columbine High School in Colorado were dealing Thursday with a bomb threat of a different sort. Students were being kept inside for the rest of the school day after someone called in a bomb threat against the school.

The Jefferson County, Colorado, Sheriff's Office said the caller claimed to have placed explosive devices in the school and to be hiding outside with a gun.

There is nothing to validate the threat was found at Columbine, where 12 students and a teacher were killed by two students in 1999, according to Sheriff's spokesman Mike Taplin.

Two dozen other Colorado schools were also temporarily placed on lockout, meaning their doors were locked but classes continued normally, as the threat was investigated.
Fake bomb threats are sent to dozens of businesses around Canada and the U.S., demanding ransoms in bitcoin. Some of the threats forced evacuations.