Spate of Bitcoin Extortion Bomb Threats Hits Government, Schools in Japan

Oct 12, 2020 at 10:20 UTCUpdated Oct 12, 2020 at 13:42 UTC.Local government premises in Japan have been hit by a flood of extortion attempts demanding bitcoin in recent months.

According to a report by Japan Today on Monday, such threats have been received in at least 18 prefectures since July.

The extortionists demand a payment in bitcoin to avoid the detonation of an explosive device, per the report.

Austria has also suffered a spate of similar bomb threats, as CoinDesk reported back in August.

Japan Post said city halls or schools have been the subject of the threats, receiving an email demanding varying amounts of bitcoin.

In one case, in Yamagata City, the demand was for 40 bitcoin, worth over $454,000 at time of writing.

The cases in Austria were demanding about $20,000 in bitcoin; prices were at slightly higher levels around $11,700 per bitcoin at the time.

None of the Japanese victims have paid the extortionists, per Japan Today.

Rather than choose major metropolitan centers, the attackers seem to be targeting local governments in rural areas, such as Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture; Tara, Saga Prefecture; and Minami, Tokushima Prefecture, among others.

The report theorizes the extortion attempts are coming from outside of Japan, though there seems to be no evidence to back up the claim.