Bomb Threats Hit Discount Stores, Supermarkets

Caller threatens to blow up stores unless money wired into account

By Max Brallier, Newser User

Posted Aug 30, 2007 8:34 AM CDT

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Bomb Threats Hit Discount Stores, Supermarkets — Shoppers walk into a Wal-Mart store in Mountain View, Calif., in this July 12, 2007 file photo. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said Monday, July 23, 2007 it is cutting prices on back-to-school items and other products in a move to combat the effect of high gas prices on customers'... (Associated Press)

Federal agents are looking into bomb threats phoned in to Wal-Marts and supermarkets across the country, the AP reports. An unidentified caller, believed to be in Portugal, demands that employees wire money overseas or he'll set off a bomb. A Maine supermarket was the target yesterday, bringing the total to at least 15 stores in 11 states.

There have been no injuries, but stores have been evacuated and locked down. An FBI spokesman says the scam appears to originate with one person or group, and the Secret Service is investigating because currency-transfer services such as Western Union are involved. The caller often claims to be able to see into stores, but "he's just ad-libbing," says one sheriff. (More Walmart stories.)

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