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.

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.

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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.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.