Independent New Hampshire Journalism · Northfield, NHA fake “summons” carrying the state seal, a QR code, and a $200 threat is circulating in New Hampshire. The DMV doesn’t send these — and one detail gives the whole thing away.
Correction, Sept. 22, 2026, 9:48 a.m. EDT: This article said DMV Director John Marasco described the scam as running on pressure, and that DMV hearings are held in person. The DMV’s March 7, 2026, warning said the texts create urgency to pressure quick payment, and Marasco’s quoted advice was not to pay and to delete the message (Boston 25 News); RSA 21-P:13, III allows Bureau of Hearings hearings by video teleconference. The attribution, the fact-check row and the hearings line were corrected.
It looks the part. The state seal up top. A judge’s name. A clerk’s name. A “summons number,” a “case number,” an official-sounding “Civil Hearing Division,” and a deadline built to make your stomach drop. Then comes the ask: scan this QR code, or press and hold this link, and pay your fine “immediately.” Every word of it is fake — and once you know the tells, the forgery falls apart in about ten seconds.
The one tell that ends it: the web address
The notice claims to come from the “Civil Enforcement Division of the New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles.” It threatens a bench warrant, suspension of your license and registration, a $200 administrative fine, and a collection agency. Then it sends you to a payment page at an address ending in .quest. That last detail is the whole game.
Real New Hampshire government lives at .nh.gov. The .gov suffix is restricted: only verified U.S. government bodies can hold one, and the federal agency that runs .gov checks the identity of every applicant. The notice instead points to nh-dmv[.]quest. The .quest ending is a cheap, open commercial domain anyone with a credit card can register in minutes. New Hampshire does not collect a dollar through a .quest address. If the destination is not .nh.gov, stop and delete. You don’t owe a fine to a website you’ve never heard of.
The state already warned about this
This is not a gray area. On March 7, 2026, the New Hampshire DMV warned residents about a wave of “unresolved traffic violations” texts demanding immediate payment, and said plainly that it never sends text messages about payments — the only texts it sends are appointment reminders. The fake links in that wave used “dmv-nh” or “nhgov” in the address to look official; this printed notice swaps in a QR code and an “nh-dmv.quest” link, the same trick on paper. The DMV said the texts create urgency to pressure people into paying quickly, and DMV Director John Marasco told residents not to submit payment or personal information and to delete the message. A year earlier, in June 2025, Attorney General John Formella and the Department of Justice Consumer Protection Bureau put out their own alert about fake DMV texts threatening license suspension. The same template has hit the state as bogus E-ZPass “smishing,” too.
Red-flag scorecard: grading the forgery
Ten things on this one page give it away.
| Red flag | Why it’s fake | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| The payment link ends in .quest, not .nh.gov | No State of New Hampshire payment portal lives on a .quest domain. | Fatal |
| Pay by QR code or “press and hold the link” | New Hampshire never routes a fine through a QR code or a tap-to-pay text. | Fatal |
| “Civil Enforcement Division,” “Civil Hearing Division” | No such DMV offices exist. | Invented |
| A “Judge,” a “Clerk,” a “summons number” and a “case number” on a DMV notice | Tickets are decided by the Circuit Court; the DMV’s own hearings cover license suspensions, never a texted summons with a pay link. | Incoherent |
| Two reference numbers, two different years (2025 and 2026) | A real case carries one consistent docket. | Sloppy |
| “Pay full fine immediately” — but no fine amount is shown | A real citation states the exact dollar figure you owe. | Tell |
| A threat stack: warrant, suspension, $200 fee, collections | Real notices lead with your rights and the amount due, not a menu of punishments. | Tell |
| “© 2026 … All Rights Reserved. Official Use Only.” | Government notices aren’t copyrighted marketing collateral. | Cosplay |
| The state seal used as a costume | Exactly what the Attorney General’s office says scammers do. | Classic |
| No court address, no clerk’s phone, no .nh.gov contact | A real notice tells you where to go and which human to call. | Tell |
| Ten tells. Ten fails. | ||
What to do
If one of these reaches you, the defense takes about five minutes.
If you get one
- Don’t tap the link or scan the code. Don’t enter card numbers, your license number, or any personal information.
- Don’t reply — not even “STOP” or “wrong number.” A reply only confirms your number is live and invites more.
- Check it yourself. If you’re worried you owe something, go to dmv.nh.gov on your own or call the DMV at (603) 227-4000. Type the address by hand; don’t follow theirs.
- Delete it.
If you already clicked or paid
- Call your bank or card issuer now and dispute the charge.
- Change any password you entered.
- Pull your credit reports and consider a fraud alert or a credit freeze — freezes are free.
- File a report with your local police department.
Report it
- Forward the text to 7726 (it spells “SPAM”) so your carrier can trace and block the sender.
- FTC: file at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
- FCC: file at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov.
- FBI: if you lost money or gave up information, file at ic3.gov — fast reports can help recover funds.
- New Hampshire Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Bureau: 1-888-468-4454, or doj.nh.gov/consumer.
Why it keeps working
This works on careful people, and that is the point. The con is built to skip your judgment and land on your panic: a government seal, a legal-sounding division, a countdown, a penalty. The Better Business Bureau has reported that phishing complaints doubled between 2022 and 2023 and set a record in 2024, and the DMV-and-toll versions have run nationwide. You don’t beat it by being clever in the moment. You beat it with one habit: government does not take your money by text or QR code, and real New Hampshire lives at .nh.gov. Check the address, and the costume drops.
— Dexter Dow, Granite State Report
Your Turn
You tell me: Forward me a screenshot of any you’ve received and I’ll track the patterns. granitestatereport@gmail.com
Fact check
| # | Claim | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The NH DMV never sends text messages about payments; its only texts are appointment reminders. | VERIFIED | NH DMV release, Mar 7, 2026; DMV “Scam Alert” page (dmv.nh.gov) |
| 2 | The DMV said the scam texts use urgency to pressure a quick payment; Director John Marasco said recipients should not submit payment or personal information and should delete the message. | VERIFIED | NH DMV release, Mar 7, 2026, as reported by Boston 25 News |
| 3 | AG John Formella and the DOJ Consumer Protection Bureau issued a consumer alert on fake DMV texts threatening license suspension. | VERIFIED | NH Dept. of Justice consumer alert, Jun 9, 2025 |
| 4 | Scam links in the text wave used “dmv-nh” / “nhgov” to mimic an official state site. | VERIFIED | NH DMV releases (Mar 2026; Jun 2025) |
| 5 | The .gov domain is restricted to verified U.S. government bodies; CISA verifies every applicant. | VERIFIED | CISA / get.gov (.gov eligibility) |
| 6 | NH traffic tickets are handled by the Circuit Court and the DMV’s Bureau of Financial Responsibility. | VERIFIED | NH Judicial Branch; dmv.nh.gov |
| 7 | The Dept. of Safety’s Bureau of Hearings holds administrative hearings (suspensions, points) before a hearings examiner. | VERIFIED | NH Dept. of Safety, Bureau of Hearings; RSA 21-P:13 |
| 8 | A real ticket must be answered within 30 days or a $50 late fee applies; pay via dmv.nh.gov or BFR at (800) 272-0036. | VERIFIED | dmv.nh.gov; NH ticket-payment guidance |
| 9 | Reporting channels: 7726, ReportFraud.ftc.gov, consumercomplaints.fcc.gov, ic3.gov, NH DOJ 1-888-468-4454. | VERIFIED | FTC; FCC; FBI IC3; NH Dept. of Justice |
| 10 | Phishing complaints doubled from 2022 to 2023 and set a record in 2024. | ATTRIBUTED | Better Business Bureau (BBB reporting) |
| 11 | An E-ZPass “smishing” scam with fake toll fees has also targeted NH. | VERIFIED | NH AG’s office; NH news reports, 2025 |
Reach the editor directly — confidentiality respected where possible.
granitestatereport@gmail.com · (603) 931-9264
Editor’s note. Every factual claim above was verified against primary sources — the New Hampshire DMV’s own advisories, the Department of Justice, CISA, and the New Hampshire Judicial Branch; see the fact-check table. The phishing-volume figures are attributed to the Better Business Bureau. The scam’s live web address has been written as “nh-dmv[.]quest” and the notice image has had its QR code and payment link removed so that nothing here can be used to reach the fraud. Granite State Report corrects verified errors promptly and appends a note identifying what changed and when.
Corrections: Granite State Report corrects verified errors promptly and appends a dated note identifying what changed and when. The corrections policy and the corrections register are public, and correction notes are never removed.
