Beware of a New Hampshire Phone Scam Involving ‘Spoofing’ and Underage Kids

2020 saw a real increase in phone scams after quarantined was administered and, quite frankly, people seemed to become bored. But even after quarantine was lifted and we've been further down the road with the pandemic, despite the Delta variant drama, it seems like the high frequency of phone scams has still been running wild across Northern New England.

Unfortunately, there's another phone scam to add to the list that involves dating apps, 'spoofing,' and underage kids.

What is spoofing?

Before hopping into the details of the scam, let's take care of the second-biggest question you may have involving this whole thing -- what is spoofing? According to the FCC, and their handy-dandy 90-second video that you can watch below (that is a lot like "don't get scammed" training videos some of us have probably had to take for work), spoofing is basically disguising a scam call to appear as a different, more familiar number.

Spoofing is one of the major components involved in this latest scam, according to Manchester Police, who ironically indirectly have a lot to do with this whole thing. It all starts on a dating app, where the victim and scammer end up matching/conversing. From there, they exchange phone numbers, and the scammer sends text messages and photos to the victim.

Shortly after, the victim's phone rings and the number appears to be from the Manchester Police Department (the spoofing), where the person on the other line pretends to be an officer telling the victim that the person they have been chatting with from the dating app is underage, and they could be facing criminal charges.

Stay safe and smart out there!