MAJOR retailers are working with law enforcement following a slew of bomb threats in an attempt to extort money from them.
Stores including Kroger, Walmart, and Whole Foods Market have been targeted by the scam.
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According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the threats have been called in at a number of areas including New Mexico, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Authorities have revealed that the threat will be made and the caller will demand money, Bitcoin or giftcards.
They would then threaten to set off the bomb if payment was not made.
At a Whole Foods store north of Chicago, an employee was told by a caller that a pipe bomb was in the store and that they wanted $5,000 in bitcoin not to detonate it.
Meanwhile, a Kroger-owned store in New Mexico saw an employee receive a call from a suspect who demanded she wire them money.
It was reported that the caller said if she called the police the bomb would go off.
According to police, in both instances the employees contacted the authorities and the stores were evacuated.
No suspicious items were found at the sites.
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Authorities are constantly discovering new methods adopted by criminals.
Lisa LaBruno, senior executive at the Retail Industry Leaders Association told the Journal: “It’s yet another evolving scam.”
She added that members of the RILA group are sharing information with each other about the threats in order to track down the perpetrators.
The U.S. Sun reached out to Walmart for comment who previously told the Wall Street Journal that is it cooperating with local, state, and federal investigators.
Meanwhile, Kroger told the Journal that it is also working with local law enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The retailer added that the top priority is the safety of its staff and customers.
“Every single day we worry about safety and take everything extremely serious,” said Rodney McMullen, chief executive of Kroger.
The FBI are asking the public to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious behavior.
The agency added that it is collaborating with local and state law enforcment.
Police have so far said that the callers are extremely hard to track due to using blocked numbers.
The authorities are also in the process of trying to establish if this is a organized effort or not.
Other callers that have made threats did not demand any money, the police added.
Regardless of this and that no bombs had been found following store sweeps, police are adamant that each call is taken seriously.
They advise retailers and businesses not to pay any money and to try and get as much information out of the caller as possible to help law enforcmenet identify them.
It was also suggested that employees learn the layout of the store so they can quickly spot any differences.
Doug Baker, vice president of industry relations at food trade group FMI said that the threats started coming in months ago and have increased in recent weeks.
Baker noted that payment demands range from hundreds of dollars to thousands and that “it’s distruptive” to business.
“If I’m a retailer…I’ve gotta close stores and have to call law enforcement and send customers out,” he said.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Kroger and Whole Foods for comment.
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