Cell text spurs Wal-Mart evacuation

BREWER – A cell phone text message about a stock that was “poised to explode” alarmed three recipients at the Wal-Mart Supercenter so much Tuesday night that they reported a bomb threat.

The store was evacuated until it was determined there was no danger, Brewer police Sgt. Arden Jones said Wednesday.

“It was spam,” he said, referring to bulk or junk e-mail. “I can’t tell you how many calls we’ve got on that.”

Capt. Jason Moffitt determined that “it’s somebody trying to get them to invest in the stock market,” Jones said.

“They misinterpreted it,” he said. “Three people in a car got the message at the same time. Because of the message, the store was evacuated. Not long after, it was determined it was not a threat.”

Brewer rescue units were on standby during the incident.

On Wednesday, Jones handled two additional cases involving spam at a Hannaford supermarket, he said.

“Stocks poised to explode. Get it before it moves” is what recipients received, along with an e-mail address, according to the police report.

The emergency call was made at 9:16 p.m., and store employees and customers were allowed to return to the store around 10:40 p.m., Jones said.

Spam through the Internet is commonplace but is a relatively new occurrence in cellular phones.

At lease two people in Bangor got the same message Tuesday night, but no call to police was made.