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A series of what appear to be unfounded bomb threats were made via email to organizations and individuals across the nation Thursday, grinding businesses to a halt and forcing the evacuation of numerous buildings containing thousands of people.

Thursday morning, emails went out to schools and businesses across the country demanding ransom payments in bitcoin. The University of Washington issued an alert, saying the emails were likely spam sent to numerous organizations around the country, and not a credible threat, but UW Police still swept buildings across campus.

UPDATE: 11:15 A.M. The University of Washington Police Department continues to investigate the email threats, but has determined there is no safety concern. UWPD has concluded sweeps of affected buildings. The FBI has also advised that the email is not a credible threat.

UPDATE: 10:49 A.M. The University of Washington Police Department is aware of and investigating threatening emails sent to individuals on campus. Police are conducting sweeps of campus buildings as a precautionary measure.

It appears to be a generic spam email that has been sent to other organizations around the country. If you receive such an email, notify UWPD at 206-685-8973.

Though officials are regarding the emails as spam and not credible threats, many organizations took precautionary steps to evacuate the areas to make sure everything was safe.

The threats come just a day after Facebook’s Menlo Park, Calif. headquarters had to be evacuated briefly due to bomb threats.

Reports of the bomb threats as well as screenshots of the emails appeared on social media Thursday:

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