As if anyone needed a reminder, we are all being bombarded with political candidates’ appeals these days. The upcoming mid-term election means increased political ads, mailers and phone calls. Scammers have taken note. They’re always looking for new ways to fool consumers and a heated election season provides them just the opportunity they seek. Your Better Business Bureau warns that it’s easy to be tricked into a scam disguised as a political outreach.
Scammer techniques around election time
A particular favorite scammer technique is a phone call in which they disguise themselves as pollsters, campaign workers or fundraisers. They may even going so far as using recordings of candidates’ voices to deceive victims. Here are some examples to look out for:
• Fake pollsters. This scam shows up during every election. A caller claims to be conducting a poll, sometimes saying they are with a specific political party. After asking a few legitimate-sounding survey questions, you may be told you are eligible for a prize for your participation. They ask for your credit card number to cover a shipping or handling fee. Remember: Legitimate pollsters do not give prizes for participation.
• Fake donation requests to a political cause. In some instances, after posing as a pollster and using your answers to reveal what sort of cause you may be sympathetic to, they may ask you for a donation. Never donate in this way. Reports are that some of these scammers get aggressive in their demand for a quick contribution. Don’t give in. If you want to send money to a political issue’s advocate, contact that organization on your own and donate directly.
• Candidate impersonation. Technology is available that allows scammers to take short audio clips of candidates’ voices and piece them together to say whatever they want them to say. You may hear the recorded candidate’s voice requesting that you push a button to be redirected to an agent. Then comes the request for your credit card number for your donation. Adding to the confusion, some candidates really do use pre-recorded appeals for donations. If you are moved to donate, don’t do it on the spur of the moment. Contact the candidate through their website or your own phone call, and make your donation this way.
• Reregistration and “phone voting.” Previous election years have been times when scammers claim in phone calls that you need to reregister in order to vote. Remember: State and county election offices do not contact voters in this way. These calls are false. Similarly, there is no legitimacy to “voting by phone.” A call like this may be an attempt to prevent you from thinking you have to vote at the polling place. Don’t fall for this trick either. There is no such thing as phone voting.
Be aware that you cannot trust your phone’s Caller ID as a way of checking the legitimacy of a call. Technology allows scammers to fake your phone’s Caller ID readout so that it looks as if they really are calling from a polling company or a candidate’s office.
Never reveal personal information to someone you do not know over the phone – especially financial information.
If you have questions or concerns regarding political phone calls or emails, contact your Better Business Bureau at 800-856-2417, or visiting our website at bbb.org.
