Police issue warning about ‘very-realistic looking’ scam targeting New Hampshire residents
By Ricky Podgorski
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MANCHESTER, N.H. (WMUR) — Police are warning people about a scam going around in the Greater Manchester Area that involves fake court documents.
Manchester Police say it’s a ‘notice of hearing’ which falsely claims the recipient committed a traffic violation and owes a fine. In a news release they described it as a ‘very-realistic looking’ scam.
The document says there is a scheduled hearing date, and you can get out of it by paying the fine.
Police say these notices are not legit.
There’s a QR code too, police say you should not scan it.
“Oh, absolutely, it looked like a real document,” Linda DePoutot of Northfield said.
DePoutot received the text message and knew it was fake immediately.
“We don’t go to Manchester, so I knew it was bogus,” she said.
DePoutot added that a scam like this could be especially convincing for the elderly.
“A lot of people who are older might see this, find it believable, and try to respond,” DePoutot said.
In a message to News 9, the Manchester Police Department said its communications and records departments were “inundated” with calls about the document, adding the Manchester Circuit Court also received a number of calls.
They say people falling for these types of scams is becoming more common and recommend calling the court or agency supposedly sending the message directly if faced with a scam.
If you get one of these, police say just ignore it.
Meanwhile, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office is reminding people that the state judicial branch does not tell residents about court hearings or fines through unsolicited texts.
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