U.S. criminals are using this year’s presidential election as a way to scam potential voters. Fraudsters are finding a number of ways to abuse the election process.
One scam involves criminals exploiting potential voters by calling them asking for donations for a political party. Instances of this type of fraud can occur at the federal, state or local level.
Another form of political fraud involves criminals calling voters telling them they need to re-register to vote. In this scam, fraudsters are hoping to get Social Security numbers and other personal, identifiable information from the intended victims.
Yet another scam involves fraudsters calling voters pretending to administer a political survey and offering financial incentives (such as cruise tickets) in exchange for survey participation. Once the survey is completed, the scammer then asks the consumer to provide a credit card number to cover any taxes or additional fees associated with the prize.
Community financial institutions (FIs) should follow these best practices to help consumers avoid falling victim to election scams:
- Advise consumers never to donate to a political party AFTER having received a phone call asking for donations. Instead, consumers should only donate when they contact the political party via a verified phone number or website.
- Educate consumers on the fact that registering to vote can never be done over the phone. Advise anyone who receives such a phone call to contact their Elections Committee immediately.
- Remind consumers to never give out their credit card information over the phone. Advise them to contact their FIs immediately if they suspect they’ve fallen victim to this type of fraud.
