An online group claims it's calling in bomb threats around the world
by Jenni Ryall, Mashable, February 1, 2016 (excerpt)
…There's a group that claims it's behind hundreds of bomb threats at schools around the world, saying it's using a stolen VOIP account to make them — and there will be more.
Schools across three states in Australia — New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria — have been evacuated for a third day on Tuesday, after at least one bomb threat came via electronic telephone messages. It follows similar bomb threats at dozens of schools around the world, with evacuations taking place in the UK, Hawaii, Paris, Japan, U.S. and Guam during the past weeks.
Following further hoax calls on Tuesday, New South Wales Police said "there is clearly a pattern of hoax calls designed to cause disruption" and the purpose and source of the calls remains unknown.
"There is no evidence these are anything other than hoaxes designed to causing unnecessary disruption and inconvenience. The threats appear to come from overseas with no credible evidence they could be carried out here," a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Police investigations are continuing into the hoax calls and their source."
A group using the name the Evacuator Group and the now-suspended Twitter handles @Ev4cuati0nSquad and @SwatTheW0rld has claimed responsibility for the threats. Authorities have not confirmed the claim.
"Yes, we are responsible for Monday's threats," a spokesperson for the group, who uses the name Viktor Olyavich, told Mashable Australia via email Monday.
"We do these threats because they are funny to us."
Evacuation Squad said on Twitter it is made up of six international members and listed a Russian email address on its social media accounts. Olyavich told Mashable that the group plans to make more phone calls in the coming days.
"We are preparing to do schools across Europe as we speak. We don't worry about the consequences, because our main threat-makers are based in Russia and Iran," Olyavich said.* "We are doing so many at once due to a stolen VOIP account that has a trove of calling credit."
Six days ago, the group posted a note on the anonymous website Pastebin that it was accepting $5 to $20 Bitcoin payments to call in bomb threats at schools, businesses and sport grounds….
read … Mashable Australia
*NOTE: ‘Russia and Iran’ are allies in support of Syrian Dictator Bashir Assad.
Flashback Jan 28, 2016: