FBI tells US citizens to be alert for scammers around presidential election

Scammers are trying to exploit the upcoming presidential election by targeting potential victims all across the United States and stealing their money or personally identifiable information.

On Tuesday November 5, 2024, eligible voters can cast their vote to elect the 47th president of the United States. The general elections have been quite a buzz for months, but are about to get to a close. Fraudsters know this and are pulling out all the stops for a last quick payday.

“Scammers use the names, images, logos, and slogans of candidates to fraudulently solicit campaign contributions, sell merchandise (which is never sent to the purchaser), or steal victim personally identifiable information (PII) that can be used for other fraud,” the FBI says in a public service announcement.

Fraudsters have come up with all kinds of schemes to scam people of their money or personal information, one of them being a so-called campaign investment pool. Basically it’s a pyramid scheme, promising victims a ‘guaranteed’ return on their campaign contribution if they invest in a pool that funds the candidate’s campaign. In reality, there’s no payout.

Some scammers pose as Political Action Committees (PACs) or candidate’s campaign committee. Victims are being tricked into thinking they’re making a contribution to a legitimate PAC. But instead the scammers keep all the money for themselves.

Merchandise online purchase scam is a third method for fraudsters to scam people. Scammers pretend to sell political merchandise with the logo of a political candidate. Once a buyer has paid for the goods, nothing is being shipped. It’s a classic non-shipment or non-delivery scam, but an effective one during the presidential election.

Lastly, there’s a voter registration scam. Victims receive a text message or email saying they are not registered to vote in their state. They are encouraged to click a link that takes them to a fraudulent state voter registration page. This scheme is designed to steal personally identifiable information to commit identity theft or financial fraud.

The FBI recommends being cautious when receiving unsolicited calls, texts, emails or surveys and not to provide any (additional) personal information. Furthermore, the intelligence agency states that donations to a political campaign aren’t the same as an investment. “They will not increase in value then be returned to you.”

If a so-called PAC or campaign committee approaches you to make a donation, you’d better check the registration status of the PAC or committee on the website of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Lastly, before buying political merchandise, research a company by checking customer reviews and complaints.

Recently, the FBI and CISA reassured that DDoS attacks could rattle election-related functions, like the reporting of the election results, but not the democratic process itself.

“It is important to help put into context some of the incidents the American public may see during the election cycle that, while potentially causing some minor disruptions, will not fundamentally impact the security or integrity of the democratic process. DDoS attacks are one example of a tactic that we have seen used against election infrastructure in the past and will likely see again in the future, but they will NOT affect the security or integrity of the actual election,” CISA Senior Advisor Cait Conley said in a statement.

Microsoft and network analysis firm Graphika have warned that state-sponsored hackers are trying to influence the US presidential election. By launching disinformation campaigns and false propaganda, they try to sow doubt in the legitimacy of the electoral process and spread false narratives about social issues.