Uncle Scam Wants You … to cough up your cash and personal data, FBI warns ahead of midterms

The FBI is warning US citizens to be vigilant against scams that are increasingly prevalent ahead of the midterms. These scams often involve the use of high-profile candidates' names, imagery, and slogans to perpetrate various frauds. Scammers may request donations, sell merchandise, or attempt to steal personal data for future scams. The agency cites the use of artificial intelligence and deepfake technology as making these scams more convincing.

Among the top frauds the FBI warns about are campaign investment pool schemes. These scams involve convincing individuals to deposit money into a campaign pool, which is supposed to pay out to all donors after a candidate wins. However, the FBI clarifies that these investments do not appreciate over time. Another type of donation-based scam involves convincing victims to fund a fake political action committee (PAC), which collects money but does not forward it to the intended party or candidate.

Phishing scams, which aim to trick individuals into providing personal information, remain the top threat according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center's (IC3) annual report. The FBI also warns of non-delivery scams, where fraudsters sell political campaign merchandise that never arrives. In addition, scammers may create a sense of urgency by claiming that a victim has not registered to vote and requesting they provide personal details online, leading to identity theft.

Texans should be particularly cautious due to recent computer issues causing a backlog in registration applications, which has led to a large number of applications being in limbo. However, the Texas Secretary of State's office states that the backlog is in the tens of thousands, not the hundreds of thousands as initially reported.

Nonetheless, scammers may still exploit this situation when crafting their phishing campaigns. The FBI advises the public to verify political organizations via the government's election commission website and to be wary of suspicious PACs that report high expenses for consulting, fundraising, and administrative costs.