FBI officials in Salt Lake City warned the public on Thursday to take all bomb threats seriously, despite a recent pattern of bomb threats being found to be hoaxes.
The comments came after heavy media coverage of an FBI investigation into bomb threats made against banks, grocery stores and Wal-Mart stores in 12 states, including Utah. All of the threats have involved extortion, and all have occurred since Sunday.
A pair of threats were made against the Macey's store at 800 N. State in Orem on Monday. The store was evacuated both times, but no bombs were found and the criminals' demands were not met, said FBI spokesman Timothy Fuhrman.
No actual bombs have been found in any of the incidents, Fuhrman said, but demands to wire money to the caller were met in at least one case.
The criminals have also demanded that all store patrons disrobe, and police have reason to believe the criminals could have been watching the stores during the calls.
FBI officials believe the threats are related based on similarities in the cases. One person or group is likely responsible, Fuhrman said. He said he couldn't comment further on the similarities due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.
However, Fuhrman emphasized Thursday during a press conference that bomb threats should never be dismissed offhand.
"It's for the authorities to determine whether or not something is a hoax," he said.
If a person receives a bomb-threat call, they should ask specific questions and write down as much information as possible about the call, Fuhrman said. They should then call local police for further instructions.
The FBI has not made any arrests in any of the bomb hoax cases. They believe the operation may be based overseas but are currently pursuing several leads, Fuhrman said.
E-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com