What to watch out for to avoid the election scammers: Internet Scambusters #1,127
We thought we’d revisit a past issue of Scambusters regarding election scammers, as the Presidential race is coming up fast and these tips are still relevant.
Election scammers are still using fake news to fool voters and fake websites to steal money.
In this week's issue, we'll flag up the main scams to be on the lookout for and tell you how to avoid being tricked.
Let's get started…
Election Scams Revisited for 2024 Election
This year’s November election is just around the corner and we felt it necessary to remind our readers that there are still election scams making the rounds. And we can expect them to get worse. The closer we get to November 5, 2024, the more we're likely to be targeted by online scammers.
We previously warned about "deep fakes" – videos that have been digitally altered to make a person appear to be saying or doing something they didn't say or do.
Many times, these are just for fun but, as we pointed out (Deep Fake Videos Threaten Turmoil for all Users and How Deepfake Videos Could Land You in Trouble), they can also be created for malicious purposes – targeting politicians among others.
And the technology for making these fakes has advanced significantly, making them almost impossible to detect. Add to that the possibility of interference with the election process by overseas powers and you can see how much of a threat deep fakes will represent in the 2024 vote.
More to Come
But that's only one strand of the election scams we can expect to see in trying to influence votes, steal your money, infect your computer with malware, or simply to create mischief.
Fake news stories will be high on the scammers' list. These will include items posted on sites that intentionally publish phony stories. Some call themselves "satirical websites" but it's easy to get taken in when you see one of their articles cross-posted on social media.
Others are downright malicious, manufacturing all manner of troubling, untrue articles.
And then there are individuals with a political axe to grind who simply post untrue articles on social media sites, notably Facebook and X (previously called Twitter).
Likewise, political donation scams are particularly active in the coming months. According to Yoav Keran, the CEO of BrandShield, “They’re just stealing people’s money and stealing their information. The donations will not go directly to the campaigns.”
Political parties are allowed to use robocalls on landlines (but not cellphones without consent), even if you're listed on the Do Not Call registry. So, you can expect to be bombarded with soliciting calls including robocalls.
Still Active
We covered some of the risks in an election scam report back in 2012 (Election Scam Crooks Out in Force) and many of the tricks we mentioned then are still active. For example:
- Voter registration or re-registration scams, where victims receive emails telling them they need to register or re-register via clickable links that download malware.
- Fake voter surveys that offer rewards, which, in turn, are scams. Victims end up paying to receive their supposed reward or handing over confidential information.
- Vote by phone scams. You can't vote by phone, and anyone who says you can is trying to stop you from going to a polling station or to get your money.
Actions You Can Take
We are all sitting targets for the election scammers. Here are seven of the actions you can take to avoid falling victim to their tricks:
- Get to know the names of fake news websites. You'll find a fairly full list of them on Wikipedia.
- Never take action or allow yourself to be influenced by a single article, especially those that make outrageous claims. Follow your instinct up to a point, but it's best to check other news sources and websites specializing in fact-checking. There are many good fact-checking sites. Where politics and elections are concerned, two of the best ones are FactCheck.org and Politifact.com.
- Don't make donations (or any sort, not just to political parties) in response to an unsolicited call or email. Instead, visit the site of the organization you want to support and send your contribution directly to them. And don't be taken in by caller ID that seems to suggest the call is coming from a legit source.
- Be wary about websites claiming to belong to political parties. Check with officials, party offices, and, again, make your donations directly (for example, by check) if you can.
- Skip the surveys that promise rewards that are too good to be true. And never give personal information or wire money to people you don't know.
- If you're told you need to register or re-register to vote, check with your state or local election office.
- And remember, you can't vote by phone, text, or via a website. And you can't necessarily believe your eyes or ears, no matter how convincing the item.
When it comes to elections, we all want our votes to count. Make sure yours does by avoiding the election scams we've outlined here.
Alert of the Week
With more people shopping online, delivery notification scam texts have run rampant. You might have recently gotten a fake text message claiming to be from UPS, FedEx, or another delivery service letting you know that your “delivery” was missed or needs to be rescheduled.
If you’ve recently bought something online, you just might be tempted to click on the link. Don't do it.
Instead, go to the official delivery service website to track your package and get the latest updates.
That's it for today -- we hope you enjoy your week!