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Mailbomb

A mailbomb or letter bomb is a bomb sent via the postal service, and designed to explode when opened, injuring or killing the recipient, usually someone the sender has a personal grudge against, or more indiscriminately as part of a terrorist campaign.

Bombs delivered by mail can often be recognised because they arrive in suspicious packages or unusual looking letters. The Police and security consultants can advise how to recognise possible mailbombs.

Anyone suspecting that they have received a mail bomb is advised to:

A related threat is mail containing unidentified powders or chemicals. In many cases, these turn out to be harmless, and often sent as a joke or hoax threat. However, until the substance can be analysed in a laboratory it may present a hazard, so Police or environmental authorities may close the affected areas. This often is the intended purpose of the sender.

see also Unabomber, Crank call, Bomb threat


In Internet usage, a mailbomb is a form of net abuse consisting of sending huge volumes of E-mail to an address in an attempt to overflow the mailbox or overwhelm the server.