Don’t be duped: Election scammers targeting New England voters

It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement and frustration of politics. For scammers, it can also be extremely lucrative. Many online fraudsters are hoping to turn your passion for your favorite candidate or cause into a quick dollar - or more.

Election scams resurface every few years in the way of emails, text messages, and bogus websites. But experts tell us they’re seeing a few new approaches ahead of the November U.S. election.

One of the most common is a text or email that promises to send you free swag of your favorite candidate. All you have to do is pay for shipping. The problem is, the shipping price is often enormously overinflated and you never receive anything in the mail.

Another scam offers a free gift in exchange for sharing your thoughts on a political survey. It looks legit and asks a combination of political and personal questions. But on the other end are crooks who turn around and use your personal information in future scams. They can also use your political leanings to target you again in the future.

Experts also warn you to be careful about any website that asks for a political donation. Scam sites sometimes operate in disguise as political action committees or PACs. Many also include the option to make your one-time donation a recurring donation. And if you don’t look closely, you may end up giving much more than you thought.

“Many times the option for recurring payment will be pre-selected for a potential voter,” says Karin Zilberstein, cybersecurity expert and VP of Product at Guardio. “You’ll need to make sure it’s unselected before you continue.”

And even then, she warns, there’s no guarantee scammers would care. Once they have your financial information, they can potentially go back for more money until you, your bank, or your credit card company catch the fraud and put a stop to it.

The best way to avoid becoming a victim is to let cooler, rational heads prevail. Scammers like to prey on emotions, which can be easy to manipulate in a tense political year like this one.

Experts offer these tips:

• Slow down. Take a step back from anything that claims to be urgent or asks you to act immediately. Scammers don’t want you to take time to think.
• Check your emotions. Scammers know how to use inflammatory comments on controversial topics and candidates to make you angry or fearful. They’re betting those emotions will lead you to open your wallet in the heat of the moment.
• Site security. If you do give online, look for the “S” in HTTPS. The “S” means the site is secure.
• Verify before you give. If you’re not 100% certain the PAC you are giving to is legitimate, check the Federal Election Commission’s website to verify its authenticity.  You may also want to take the extra step of looking into the causes they support to make sure they truly align with your own.

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