Dartmouth

One Spoofed Number, Ten New Hampshire Campuses, a Nonexistent Room

Tuesday, August 2, 2022NHbomb threatemergency notificationmedium confidence

UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

On August 2, 2022, Dartmouth College was one of roughly 10 New Hampshire higher-education sites hit by bomb threats traced to a single spoofed phone number. Hanover police received a threat around 1:35 PM EDT directed at a 'nonexistent room' at a Geisel School of Medicine building. First responders searched and found no device. The New Hampshire Department of Safety said the caller, possibly overseas, used a spoofed number and that no threats appeared credible.

Alerts: 2
Response: —
Killed: —
Injured: —

Institution

Dartmouth College

Private R1 · NH

~6,700 studentsDartAlert

Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMSEarly afternoon, shortly after the approximately 1:35 PM EDT threat on August 2, 2022

Approximate reconstruction149 chars

DartAlert: Hanover Police are investigating a reported threat to a campus building. Avoid the area while officers search. More information to follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed wording: the exact DartAlert text was not published, so isVerbatimConfirmed is false. The 'avoid the area while officers search' framing matches the building-search response described by reporting.

The threat was specifically directed at a 'nonexistent room' in a Geisel School of Medicine building, a detail authorities cited as evidence the caller was not familiar with the campus.

Hanover, NH is in Eastern Time; the originating call was logged around 1:35 PM EDT.

ALL CLEARSMSAfternoon, after the building search concluded on August 2, 2022

Approximate reconstruction158 chars

DartAlert: The building search is complete. No device was found and the threat is not considered credible. The area is clear and normal operations may resume.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed all-clear; the New Hampshire Department of Safety publicly stated it had no information indicating any of the threats were credible, which this message reflects.

No precise minute survives for the all-clear, so timestampApprox is used and no exact timestamp is asserted.

This is a genuine all-clear: it lifts the avoid-the-area instruction and declares the building clear, unlike an interim status update.

Context

Background

August 2, 2022 saw a coordinated wave of bomb threats against New Hampshire higher education, which the New Hampshire Department of Safety said targeted approximately 10 facilities using the same spoofed phone number, with the caller possibly located overseas. Dartmouth College's threat, received in Hanover around 1:35 PM EDT, was aimed at a 'nonexistent room' inside a Geisel School of Medicine building — a tell that the caller lacked real knowledge of the campus. First responders searched and found nothing. State officials emphasized that none of the threats appeared credible and declined to name all 10 institutions, though Dartmouth and Great Bay Community College's Rochester location were publicly confirmed targets. The episode was part of a broader national pattern of telephonic bomb-threat campaigns against colleges in 2022, in which spoofed and overseas numbers were used to trigger costly multi-campus law-enforcement responses with no actual devices.

Analysis

Key Findings

A single spoofed phone number, possibly originating overseas, drove bomb threats against roughly 10 New Hampshire higher-education sites on the same day

Dartmouth's threat targeted a 'nonexistent room' in a Geisel School of Medicine building, signaling the caller's unfamiliarity with the campus

No explosive device was found at Dartmouth or any targeted institution, and state officials deemed the threats non-credible

The incident exemplifies the 2022 wave of telephonic, multi-campus bomb-threat hoaxes that strained law-enforcement resources statewide

Outcome

No explosive device was found at Dartmouth or any of the targeted New Hampshire institutions. State officials said a single spoofed phone number was likely responsible for nearly 10 calls, and a preliminary investigation found no credible threat.

Provenance

Alert Sequence

Background

Key Findings

Sources

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