The bomb threats targeting Jewish community centers and schools “are leveraging technologies that have made the investigation more challenging,” according to a Jewish community liaison to the FBI.
Paul Goldenberg told BuzzFeed Wednesday that the nationwide threats have likely been coordinated using “spoofing” technology.
“Spoofing” is a tactic where a phone call originates from a seemingly friendly or known source, Goldenberg said, only to come from someone else.
{mosads}Goldenberg, who is national director of Secure Community Network, a homeland security initiative focusing on the Jewish community, added that “voice-masking technology” may also be involved.
“I have been in business for two decades, and we have never seen a number at this level in a short period of time,” he said, adding the Secure Community Network is working with the FBI “24/7” since the threats began. “You can’t even compare it.”
Reports emerged Monday about a string of new bomb threats targeting Jewish community centers and schools nationwide.
The JCC Association of North America last month reported that 11 Jewish community centers experienced similar messages, all of which were later determined to be hoaxes.
President Trump condemned the intimidating calls and other recent acts of anti-Semitism during his first address to a joint session of Congress.
“Recent threats targeting Jewish community centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week’s shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms,” he said.