What to Do If You Receive a Telephone Bomb Threat?

If you receive a telephone bomb threat, keep the caller on the line, signal a coworker to call 911 from a different phone, and write down everything you can about what the caller says, how they sound, and what you hear in the background. Those first minutes are when the useful evidence exists, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Bomb Threat Procedures Card is built around capturing it before the call ends.1Department of Homeland Security. Bomb Threat Procedures Card

While the Caller Is Still on the Line

Stay calm. Be polite. Show interest and keep the person talking as long as they will stay. The longer the conversation runs, the more you learn and the better the chance the call can be traced. Do not hang up, and do not interrupt to argue or react.

If anyone is within sight, catch their attention and pass a written note telling them to call 911 from a separate phone. You want the police notified without the caller hearing it happen.1Department of Homeland Security. Bomb Threat Procedures Card

Work through as many of these questions as the caller will tolerate:

  • Where is the bomb? Which building, which floor, which room?
  • When will it go off?
  • What does it look like?
  • What kind of bomb is it?
  • What will make it explode?
  • Did you place the bomb?
  • Why?
  • What is your name?

Most callers will not answer everything. Partial answers still help law enforcement judge whether the threat is credible and where to look first.

What to Listen For

While the caller talks, pay attention to the voice itself. Does the speaker sound male or female, young or old, calm or agitated? Is there an accent, a stutter, a lisp, or any speech impediment? Does the voice sound familiar?

Listen past the voice too. Traffic noise, music, machinery, a PA system, children, other voices in the room: any of it can help investigators work out where the call came from. If your phone shows caller ID, write the number down right then. Do not rely on memory.1Department of Homeland Security. Bomb Threat Procedures Card

Try to capture the caller’s exact words, not a paraphrase. The specific phrasing matters later, both for identifying the caller and for assessing the threat.

Right After the Caller Hangs Up

Do not hang up on your end. The line may still be traceable, especially on a landline, so set the receiver down gently and leave it off the hook. Use a different phone to call 911 if that has not already happened.1Department of Homeland Security. Bomb Threat Procedures Card

Write everything down immediately. Memory degrades fast under stress, and the details that seemed obvious while the caller was talking will blur within minutes. Note the exact words, the time the call came in, how long it lasted, every voice characteristic, every background sound, and the caller ID number if you saw one.

If your workplace uses a VoIP or digital phone system, tell IT right away so they can preserve call logs, timestamps, and any metadata the system captured. That kind of digital evidence can be overwritten quickly.

Isolate the phone that took the call. Do not make outgoing calls from it. Do not let anyone else use it. Treat it as evidence until police say otherwise.

Reporting the Threat to Police

Call 911 or your local police department as soon as you can, and if you are at work, also notify building security or your designated emergency coordinator. CISA’s guidance routes all bomb threats to local law enforcement as the first point of contact.2Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Bomb Threat Guide

Hand officers everything you documented: the caller’s exact words, the time of the call, the voice and background details, and anything the caller said about the device’s type, location, or detonation time. Organized notes let law enforcement evaluate credibility and choose a response quickly.

Evacuation and Safe Distance

Do not evacuate on your own. The DHS procedures card advises waiting for police to arrive and assess the threat before clearing the building, because a premature evacuation can push people past a hidden device or into a secondary attack zone.1Department of Homeland Security. Bomb Threat Procedures Card The exception is immediate, obvious danger.

Once law enforcement does order an evacuation, how far people need to go depends on the suspected size of the device. The DHS/FBI Bomb Threat Stand-Off Card gives recommended outdoor distances. A few of the smaller categories:3Department of Homeland Security. Bomb Threat Stand-Off Card

  • Pipe bomb (5 lbs): mandatory 70 ft, preferred 1,200+ ft
  • Suicide bomber (20 lbs): mandatory 110 ft, preferred 1,700+ ft
  • Briefcase or suitcase (50 lbs): mandatory 150 ft, preferred 1,850+ ft
  • Car (500 lbs): mandatory 320 ft, preferred 1,900+ ft

The mandatory figure is the minimum to reduce the risk of death or serious injury from the blast itself. The preferred figure accounts for flying debris and shattered glass. When in doubt, go farther. Use stairwells, not elevators. Stay away from windows and exterior walls, and do not re-enter until authorities give explicit clearance.

What Not to Do

The dangerous mistakes during a bomb threat tend to be the intuitive ones.

Do not touch, move, or cover a suspicious item. If you can see it, you are already too close. Back away, direct others to do the same, and tell police where it is.4Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Bomb Threat Guide

Do not use a cell phone or two-way radio near a suspected device. Radio frequency signals have the potential to trigger an explosive. This is the warning people most often ignore, because the instinct is to call for help from exactly where you are standing. Move well away before you transmit anything.1Department of Homeland Security. Bomb Threat Procedures Card

And do not run a self-directed evacuation before police have assessed the threat. A hasty, uncoordinated clear-out can create more risk than it prevents if a device has been placed along an exit route.1Department of Homeland Security. Bomb Threat Procedures Card

Federal Penalties for the Caller

Making a bomb threat by phone is a federal crime whether or not any device exists. Under 18 U.S.C. § 844(e), using a phone or other means of communication to threaten destruction by fire or explosive carries up to 10 years in prison, a fine, or both.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 844 – Penalties

A separate statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1038, covers knowingly conveying false information about a bombing. The base penalty is up to 5 years. If someone suffers serious bodily injury as a result of the hoax, the maximum climbs to 20 years. If someone dies, it can reach life imprisonment.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1038 – False Information and Hoaxes Most states add their own felony charges, and many require the caller to reimburse the cost of the emergency response.

Be Ready Before the Phone Rings

You will handle the call better if the materials are already in reach. Print copies of the DHS Bomb Threat Procedures Card and keep one near every phone. It fits on a single page and walks you through the questions to ask and the details to record while the caller is still talking.1Department of Homeland Security. Bomb Threat Procedures Card The people who get through these calls well are almost always the ones who looked at the card before they ever needed it.