Bitcoin bomb threats sweep U.S., Canada, but lack credibility

Passengers stand outside King subway station after a bomb threat was made in Toronto, Ontario, Canada December 13, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A rash of bomb threats were emailed on Thursday to hundreds of businesses, public offices and schools across the United States and Canada demanding payment in cryptocurrency, but none of the threats appeared credible, law enforcement officials said.

Initial jitters sparked by the wave of awkwardly worded messages, threatening to set off explosives unless $20,000 were delivered in bitcoin, subsided within hours as some local authorities began referring to the electronic extortion notes as a scam.