Wauwatosa CVS Pharmacy bomb threat linked to debit card scam

A man called CVS Pharmacy, 7520 W. Bluemound Road, at 1 p.m. April 18 claiming he was going to blow up the building and the store manager's family if $500 was not loaded on five separate Green Dot MoneyPak debit cards, according to a Wauwatosa police report.

Hoax bomb scares and Green Dot phone calls are not uncommon to Wauwatosa businesses. Three happened last year and have been investigated by the Wauwatosa Police Department, Lt. Christopher Fox said. Friday's call is the first to happen since September.

Other Wauwatosa businesses that have received hoax threats include Walgreens at Wauwatosa Avenue and Center Street, Walgreens at Mayfair Road and North Avenue, and K-Mart, 3201 N. Mayfair Road.

All three calls occurred on Sept. 16 or 17, Fox said.

According to the police report, the caller on April 18 said: "Listen to me very carefully. If you don't do what I want, I will enter your store and blow up your store. I'm currently near your store and I have nothing to live for. Will you do what I ask?"

The store manager said he would not be loading any money on to any debit cards for the man, who had a heavy accent, the report states.

The male caller replied: "Think about what you are saying. I'm going to find out where your family is and blow them up. Think about your family."

The store manager then hung up the phone and called the police. He had all employees and customers exit CVS. The caller never gave the manager his name, and there was no caller I.D., according to the report.

After 30 minutes, the manager presumed the bomb threat was false and re-opened CVS about 1:45 p.m., the report said.

TMJ-4 first reported on two bomb threats that closed stores in Oak Creek and Wauwatosa last September. The threats were made against two Walgreens stores.

Threats involving Green Dot MoneyPak cards had been made against drug stores and retail outlets nationwide, said the FBI in Atlanta, the Journal Sentinel reported last year.