Three international schools in Indonesia received threatening messages from criminals claiming to have planted bombs on their premises. The messages, sent via WhatsApp, demanded a ransom of $30,000 in Bitcoin to prevent the alleged explosives from detonating.
Local media reports indicate the messages originated from a phone number bearing Nigeria’s country code (+234). Written in English, the threats warned school staff that the bombs would go off in 45 minutes if the ransom was not paid. The same message, containing an identical BTC address, was sent to all three schools—one in North Jakarta and two in South Tangerang.
The message read:
“A message for EVERYONE. We have bombs in your school. The bombs are set to go off in 45 minutes if you do not agree to pay us $30,000 to our Bitcoin address.”
The sender also threatened immediate detonation if authorities were involved.
Despite these warnings, school officials promptly contacted law enforcement. Police teams, including the Bomb Disposal Unit (Jibom), conducted thorough searches at all three locations. No explosives or hazardous devices were found.
South Tangerang Police Chief AKBP Victor Inkiriwang confirmed:
“We conducted a sweep and secured the area—thankfully, no explosives or bombs were found.”
Similarly, Kelapa Gading Police Chief Commissioner Seto Handoko reported the North Jakarta Intercultural School was clear of any threats.
Authorities investigated the Bitcoin address linked to the messages with the help of a national crypto association. On-chain tracking revealed that the wallet was invalid and untraceable on Indonesian crypto exchanges.
The identity and motives of the sender remain unknown, and investigations are ongoing. So far, no additional threats have been reported at other Indonesian schools.
