Huntsville Police have confirmed that local businesses have received bomb threats believed to be an email hoax. The department said the FBI is aware but that it doesn't believe that anyone is in real danger.

Other law enforcement agencies nationwide have reported similar threats. Huntsville Police said the threats have been traced to an IP address in Russia.



This is a copy of the email threat; Courtesy of Ben Stein with ABC This is a copy of the email threat; Courtesy of Ben Stein with ABC

According to Huntsville Police, the emails say that in exchange for not allowing a bomb to go off, $20,000 in Bitcoin must be sent to an account.

A Florence business owner said he received one of the threatening emails. In Huntsville, a business manager said an email like that could cause worry.

"It would be pretty alarming for my sake and the employees, but also this is our livelihood, so it would be scary on a lot of different levels," Caleb Hipp said.

The FBI's Birmingham division released a statement Thursday afternoon about the threat:

“We are aware of the recent bomb threats made in cities around the country, and we remain in touch with our law enforcement partners to provide assistance. As always, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety.”