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Several synagogues across the United States were targeted with fake bomb threats around New Year’s day in order to extort congregations for ransoms to be paid through cryptocurrency addresses, according to information drawn from synagogues, Jewish community organizations, law enforcement, and local media.
At least six synagogues were targeted in similar incidents that according to Israeli crypto transaction monitoring company Nominis were similar to bomb threat hoaxes in 2018.
One email sent to a synagogue obtained by Nominis detailed how the sender claimed to have hidden an explosive device outside “your k**e institution.”
“It was constructed meticulously and is small and hidden very well. It will not cause much damage to the structure of your building but I suspect you will have some victims when it goes off. For when one of you dumb k**es touches the device and triggers its detonation: This attack is in resistance to the ongoing Israeli genocide and occupation of innocent people and their rightful land,” read the email shared by Nominis, which further offered to retrieve the bomb if payment was sent to a Bitcoin address. “I am still nearby in my van. Do not have police pigs waiting for me. I stand ready to martyr myself.”
One synagogue to receive an email containing a bomb threat financial scam was the Jewish Congregation of Maui, Beit Shalom in Hawaii. The Kihei congregation told The Jerusalem Post that it had received the email last Wednesday morning, and the Maui Police Department confirmed that officers had searched the premises and found no device after a bomb threat.
The incident is still under investigation, and there are no suspects. The congregation said in a press release that “while the threat itself was not credible, the fear it was designed to provoke was real, and we do not dismiss it.”
“The language used was intentionally meant to frighten Jewish people like us,” said the congregation. “This moment also reminds us why community matters. Antisemitism is real, and there may be children in our schools and Jews in our community whose fears may be dismissed or minimized—especially as they are still forming their Jewish identity. Awareness matters, particularly in a world where so much messaging about our people is confusing, frightening, or distorted.”
JCM shared that it would improve its physical security by installing cameras and applying for grants, and hoped to continue to be an open house for those who felt disenfranchised or disconnected from Judaism.
Hawaii News Now also reported that an email bomb threat had been made on December 27 to the Aloha Jewish Chapel on Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam.
Two Jewish institutions in Florida received hoax bomb threats around new years, according to the Jewish Federation of Lee and Charlotte Counties. The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said that its deputies attended the Temple Shalom Synagogue in Port Charlotte last Thursday after the congregation received an unfounded bomb threat. Fox 4 Now reported that the message requested payment to a Bitcoin account, and ABC 7 reported framing used similar to that of the email obtained by Nominis.
“While law enforcement has confirmed there is no active threat, these calls are deeply disturbing and cause unnecessary fear and disruption — not only within the Jewish community, but across our entire community,” the Jewish federation said on Facebook.
“Threats and acts of intimidation — real or hoaxed — have no place in our society. They are meant to spread fear, and we will not allow them to divide or silence us. We stand united, resilient, and committed to keeping our institutions safe and welcoming.”
American Israelite Today reported that the Beth Israel Congregation in Hamilton, Ohio received an emailed bomb threat on December 29.
Previous campaign targeted businesses, not Jewish institutions
Nominis said that the framing and Bitcoin wallet used in the email it obtained were associated with a series of bomb threat emails made in 2018. The previous campaign didn’t target Jewish institutions, but companies and businesses.
“It has small dimensions and it is hidden very carefully, it is not able to damage the supporting building structure, but you will get many wounded people if it detonates,” a 2018 bomb threat said according to Nominis. “My recruited person is controlling the situation around the building. If he notices any strange activity or policemen the device will be blown up. I want to propose [sic] you a deal. $20,000 is the value for your safety. Pay it to me in BTC and I assure that I have to withdraw my recruited person and the bomb will not explode.”
Nominis assessed that the threat it had investigated appeared “to be part of a long‑running pattern of Bitcoin‑based hoax threats targeting public and religious institutions in the United States.”
“The reuse of a Bitcoin wallet previously associated with bomb‑threat emails, combined with the near‑identical formatting and language documented in earlier cases, strongly suggests a copycat attack rather than a credible explosive threat.”