Police arrest teens in connection with spammed out school bomb threats

Hoax leads to handcuffs.

Police arrest teens in connection with spammed-out school bomb threats

On 19 March, hundreds of British schools received emails threatening that they would be bombed unless money was paid. Although police said that the emails were not believed to represent any genuine threat, 400-or-so schools were closed as a result.

School tweet

Two days later, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA), Hertfordshire police officers arrested a 19-year-old man in Watford on suspicion of blackmail and making malicious communications.

Sign up to our free newsletter.
Security news, advice, and tips.

On 28 March, one week after the initial wave of threats, hundreds of British schools and colleges reported receiving more of the hoax emails.

Tonight the NCA and Hertfordshire Police have swooped again, arresting an 18-year-old man in the Abbots Langley area

Police believe the hoax bomb threats are linked. No more details are being offered by the authorities as the investigation is considered ongoing, however an earlier report at BBC News suggested the attacks might be linked to disgruntled users of a Minecraft server.


Graham Cluley is an award-winning keynote speaker who has given presentations around the world about cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. A veteran of the computer security industry since the early 1990s, he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows, makes regular media appearances, and is the co-host of the popular "Smashing Security" podcast. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, or drop him an email.

What do you think? Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.