CONCORD — Attorney General John M. Formella has issued an alert warning of a blackmail scam targeting New Hampshire residents, including the state’s older adult population.
The state attorney general’s office has received several reports from residents who have received similar e-mails from senders who are unfamiliar to them. The e-mail subject line contained the recipient’s name. The body of the e-mail contained the recipient’s name and home address. A similarly worded, threatening letter was attached to each e-mail. The letter contained the recipient’s name, telephone number, home address, and a picture of the recipient’s home. The letter claimed that a virus was placed on the recipient’s electronic device, allowing the sender to track the recipient’s browsing history, e-mails, and social media accounts.
The letter warns that the sender has extracted embarrassing information about the recipient. The sender threatens that the embarrassing information will be sent to the recipient’s e-mail and/or telephone contacts unless the recipient pays a “privacy fee” using cryptocurrency. The letter lists the amount of the “privacy fee” and cryptocurrency account information for deposit.
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An e-mail containing this type of letter as an attachment is known as a “blackmail scam.” Residents should understand that the senders of these e-mails have not actually been to the recipient’s home. They have obtained personal identifying information from publicly available sources and included photos of the recipient’s home obtained online in the letter. Further, the sender has not gained access to the recipient’s electronic device. Instead, the sender threatens the recipient to create a sense of fear and urgency so that the recipient will pay money.
The Attorney General urges New Hampshire residents to be vigilant. Do not reply to or open any attachments in electronic messages from senders with whom you are unfamiliar. Anyone who opens one of these letters attached to an e-mail should take the following steps:
Do not panic.
Do not send money, including cryptocurrency, in response to the letter.
Contact your local police department, especially if you have lost money.
If you are concerned about whether your computer or other device has been compromised, contact a reputable computer company you can verify to inspect your device.
Report the scam to the Office of the Attorney General – Consumer Protection Hotline:
Anyone with knowledge that a vulnerable adult has been scammed or financially exploited should also contact the New Hampshire Bureau of Adult and Aging Services, at 1-800-949-0470.
CONCORD, NH — Here are the Top 10 most popular stories and posts from around New Hampshire Patch sites last week.
Concord Police Investigating The Death Of A Young Child In The City’s South End Neighborhood: Update: Dakin Street was closed to traffic for several hours during an investigation of a child found dead at a duplex on Friday morning.
Facebook Marketplace Cleaning Services Hire Or Sex Sale Gone Bad Leads To Stabbing In Manchester: Court docs: Frank Miller of Manchester and Kendra Gokey, a homeless woman, were arrested on first-degree assault and other charges Sunday.
Man Shot During Dispute On South State Street In Downtown Concord: Video: Breaking: A man was shot in the leg Saturday during a dispute; cops have South State Street from Thompson to Concord closed to traffic.
Fast Food Chain Closing Locations | Queen City Killing | Meth Distributor Pleads Guilty | More: Nearby News: Also: Best sandwich shop in NH; untimely death; crashes; knife attack indictments; firefighter injured in explosion released from hospital.
After The Snow Sunday And Monday, More Is Coming To New Hampshire, Forecasters Say: After the storm that is expected to bring 8 to 12 inches of snow to the state, more snowstorm fronts are expected to arrive this week.
6 To 15 Inches Of Snow Heading To The Granite State Sunday Night; Wind Gusts Up To 45 mph: Forecasters: Heavy, blinding snow is expected in central and southern New Hampshire, as well as the Seacoast, from Sunday night to Monday morning.
National Fast Food Chain To Close Hundreds Of Restaurants; New Hampshire Locations May Be Impacted: The chain that closed hundreds of locations in 2024 expects to shutter approximately 360 nationwide during the first half of 2026.
Police Arrest Man On Felony Charges After South State Street Shooting In Downtown Concord: Follow-Up: David Anziani faces first-degree and second-degree assault, reckless conduct, and felonious firearm charges after a shooting on Saturday.
Hollis Teen Faces Assault Charge, Accused Of An ‘Unprovoked’ Attack In Downtown Nashua In November: Connor Cook was arrested in late December after being accused of punching another man in the face on Main Street and then fleeing the scene.
How Much Income Is Needed To Be Considered ‘Rich’ In New Hampshire?: A new analysis details the annual household income required to be considered among the top 10 percent of earners in the Granite State.
Here are some other posts readers may have missed:
Child Death Investigation | Queen City Tax Cap Fight | Fun Things To Do This Weekend | More: PM Patch NH
CONCORD, N.H. – New Hampshire lawmakers have moved to reject a Republican-backed proposal to launch an impeachment inquiry into the lone Democrat on the state’s five-member Executive Council.
On Friday, a key committee of lawmakers delivered a unanimous 17-0 vote against an impeachment inquiry into Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill of Lebanon, N.H.
The vote on House Resolution 41 followed an abbreviated public hearing, after the bill’s sponsor withdrew his support for the proposal and instead asked lawmakers on the committee to recommend killing it.
The push for Liot Hill’s impeachment was led by Representative Joe Sweeney, a Salem Republican and the deputy majority leader in the New Hampshire House.
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At issue were several emails Liot Hill had sent from her official account to help a partisan law firm identify voters impacted by a new state law. The law tightened voter ID requirements for absentee ballots.
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Sweeney had previously called Liot Hill’s correspondence “political lawfare run out of a taxpayer-funded inbox.” In December, a review by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office found that Liot Hill’s conduct was not illegal and did not constitute a misuse of office, clearing the complaint against her.
Reached by the Globe on Friday, Sweeney, who was not present at the public hearing, said in a statement he preferred to let voters decide whether Liot Hill should continue to serve in the upcoming November election.
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“After reviewing the matter and hearing the discussion, I believe the appropriate course is to move forward and allow the voters and the political process to do their work,” he said.
“The purpose of filing the resolution was to ensure that the constitutional questions raised were addressed seriously and transparently,” he said, noting that he stands by the process and the decision to recommend killing the resolution.
In an interview, Liot Hill said she was pleased with the unanimous vote from the House Judiciary Committee.
“The committee vote, I think, sends the message that there was no merit to this,” she said.
The proposal now heads to the full House of Representatives, which has the power to approve the committee’s recommendation to reject it.
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Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
