Election Year Political Scams

August 21, 2024

The Election Year Brings With It A Potential For Political Scams

No matter which side of the aisle you are on, one commonality is that everyone is susceptible to political scams. And during this election year, these fraudsters are out to take advantage of your support for candidates.

Some people are very passionate about their candidates and want to do whatever they can to help support their political endeavors. Scammers prey on these emotions and aim to use these vulnerabilities to take advantage and steal your information and money.

While it is important to be attentive to phishing scams for all emails, texts, and phone calls received, during this election year be extra attentive, act with caution, and scrutinize all campaign solicitations before you act. Your perceived support could result in financial losses.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) offers some helpful tips, that we’ve summarized below, to protect you from election scams.

Scrutinize That Email

Your favorite candidate or political party may send you emails asking to get your views through a poll or survey, and they urge you to support their efforts by donating. While those outreach efforts may be legitimate, scammers are crafty at mimicking these same tactics. But under this disguise, they don’t need your vote, they want to obtain your personal information and monetary contributions.

What appears like a legitimate campaign support email may very well be fraudulent. Be especially careful of emails with links. The email links don’t take you to legitimate websites, but rather spoofed sites that attempt to steal and gain access to your bank account or credit card information.

Before you donate or give personal information, research the organization that reached out, and be wary of people who try to rush you to take action. If you want to get involved, a safe solution is to avoid clicking the links in an email but rather type the known domain into your web browser to visit the real website. Use BBB’s tips for spotting an email scam to be sure it’s real.

When Fraudsters Call

Scammers also attempt to mimic campaign support phone calls. Criminals will use phone tactics pretending to be affiliated with your party or candidate with activities that may include:

• Answering survey questions – The call may sound legitimate at first asking questions about your views around the candidate. But then things can go awry if they ask for your personal information like your social security number or birthdate. No surveyor needs this information! Or they may even offer a prize or award for participating but just need your credit card information to cover the “minimal shipping expense.” No thank you! Here are some helpful tips from the BBB for how to identify a fake survey.
• Donating funds – A common campaign support effort. Your preferred candidate can get it done with your financial support and you can donate right away by sharing your account or payment information with the caller. Avoid making donations on the phone from calls you receive. If you wish to support a political fundraising effort, find the official campaign website where information will be provided for how to safely make a contribution. Learn about donating wisely to a crowdfunding campaign.
• Registering to vote – Fraudsters will use a “scare tactic” calling to say you’re not registered with an offer of support to get you registered right away over the phone. They will use this façade to collect your confidential information which is used to help them steal personally identifying information. Here’s how to verify your voter registration.

Scammers even use a spoofing tactic where the phone number they are calling from looks like the real campaign headquarters phone number. It’s best to simply not provide any account, payment, or other personal and confidential information to a caller over the phone. It is ok to support your preferred candidate, party, or cause, but take time to find the appropriate methods to do so. Do not provide it to callers or respond to the phone numbers left in voice messages.

Texting Trickery

Text messaging is a common, easy communication method these days. And more businesses and organizations are reaching out through this method. It is important to always scrutinize unsolicited text messages, especially from companies or organizations that you did not opt-in to receive text notifications from.

Scammers have quickly adopted this communication method. You may receive a simple message soliciting your support with a link included to learn more and get involved. What appears like a message from a trusted source is really directing you to a fake website intended to collect and steal your information.

Texts may also attempt to capture your attention by directing you to simply reply with a “yes” or “no” to a question. Your reply is the hook that then triggers an immediate follow-up phone call to attempt to get your information.

Think twice about replying to any unsolicited text messages from entities you did not opt-in to receive, especially those looking for you to click on links. Read more about phishing scams and how to identify a fake text message.

Cybersecurity Tips To Be Mindful Of During Election Season

• Check your links. Never click on a link in an email or text unless you trust exactly where it is going.
• See prizes as a red flag. Legitimate pollsters don’t usually offer a prize for completing a survey.
• Know what pollsters don’t need. They might ask for demographic information or what party you most align with, but they don’t need personal information like birth dates, social security numbers or financial information. No state offers voter registration by phone.
• Don’t answer unknown numbers. Con artists can’t trick you if they can’t get in touch.
• Listen to your gut. If something seems off, protect yourself. If in doubt, check with your local election office.
• Don’t provide information in response to an unsolicited message. The entities that need your account and personal information already have them.
• Do report suspicious activities to BBB’s Scam Tracker.