Election fever is now at an all-time high — and so are election scams. From schemes that steal your vote to ones promising dream (albeit, bogus) vacations in exchange for participation in a poll or survey, there’s no shortage of scams centering on elections.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning of an uptick in political fundraising scams in which thieves collect donations allegedly going toward a candidate’s campaign, or to a specific cause. Here’s all you need to know about political fundraising scams: How the scams play out Campaigns on every level of government cost heaps of money to run, and presidential campaigns can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Citizens can help the candidates they support by donating money to their campaigns, and scammers try to capitalize on this support by tricking voters out of their money. In a similar fashion, political causes, or political action committees (PACs), are federally registered groups that support a cause or a candidate and solicit money from donors. Scam PACs are bogus groups that solicit money from donors and then pocket the funds instead of using it for the promised political campaigning. In a political fundraising scam, the victim receives a call from someone claiming to represent a political candidate or cause. The caller tells the victim they are raising money to support the campaign or for a specific cause. The caller is generally aggressive and demanding until the victim agrees to make a donation to the campaign or cause. They will also insist on immediate payment. The victim, not recognizing the scam, willingly donates money — which goes directly into the scammer’s pockets. In another variation of this scam, the victim is targeted by a bogus online ad or email. After clicking on the ad or on an embedded link in the email, the victim is directed to donate funds. Here, too, the money will go directly to the scammer. In some scenarios, the scam goes a step further. Aside from soliciting money, the caller or email will ask the donor to share their personal information. This puts the victim at risk for identity theft. Political fundraising scams can be especially difficult to spot, as the scammers make every effort to appear legitimate. Red flags To spot a political fundraising scam, be on the lookout for these red flags:
If you’d like to donate If you’d like to make a donation to your favored campaign or cause, it’s best to follow these tips:
If you spot a scam If you believe you’ve spotted a political fundraising scam, it’s important to report it to the appropriate authorities. The FBI urges all citizens to report any election scams to a local FBI field office as soon as possible. If appropriate, you can also utilize any in-platform tools provided by social media companies for reporting suspicious posts that appear to be disseminating false or inconsistent information about voting and elections. Finally, it’s best to warn your friends about the circulating scam so they don’t fall victim to it themselves. This election season, vote no for scams! Your turn: What’s your best tip for spotting a scam? Share with us in the comments!
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Everyone loves a surprise package, and scammers are taking the excitement out of that experience by using bogus packages as a cover for a nefarious scam that tricks victims into sharing their personal information — and their money.
Here’s all you need to know about the pending package text scam: How the scam plays out In the circulating package delivery scam, the victim receives a text message from a contact who is an alleged mail carrier, or someone representing a package-delivery service. The contact tells the victim they were unable to deliver a package to the victim’s home. The message might claim the package is a gift from a friend or relative and may be worded professionally, making the scam difficult to spot. The victim is asked to reply to the message to confirm their identity; however, as soon as they engage with the scammer, they will be asked to share their personal information or credit card details to schedule delivery. This, of course, places the victim at risk for identity theft. In other variations of the scam, the victim is contacted by email or phone. In each scenario, the scam plays out in a similar manner, with the victim convinced there’s a package waiting for them, and willingly sharing sensitive data with a criminal. Some scammers take the ruse a step further by sending the victim a text message or an email containing an embedded link. The victim is instructed to click on the “tracking link” to track the package or change their delivery preferences. Unfortunately, clicking on the link will download malware into the victim’s device. Alternatively, the link connects the victim to a form asking for their personal information, which the victim often shares willingly. Red flags There are two primary red flags that can serve to warn you about the pending package scam. First, the original text, email or phone call, will generally not inform the victim of the identity of the company they represent. The scammer will only claim to be an employee of a mail or package delivery service, but will not verify if they work for UPS, FedEx or another legitimate organization. Second, the scammers don’t always check if the victim actually has a package in transit. They’ll either assume the victim has recently ordered something online or they’ll claim a friend or family has sent a surprise gift. If you know that neither of these is true, you can be on the alert for a possible scam. Don’t get scammed! Take these precautions to avoid being the next victim of a pending package scam:
If you’ve been targeted If you believe you’ve been targeted by a pending package scam, it’s important not to engage with the scammer. Delete any suspicious text messages and block the number of the contact. Similarly, delete suspicious emails and mark them as spam. You can also report the scam to the local authorities and to the Federal Trade Commission. Finally, it’s a good idea to warn your friends and family members about the circulating scam. Your Turn: Have you ever been targeted by a pending package scam? |
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