Financial Fraud Using Politics

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Watch out for fraudsters using elections to launch financial scams.  They will use the names, images, and branding of political candidates to trick people into giving up their personal information.  Scams include:

  • Investing in a pool with promises for a high return should the candidate win
  • Contributing to a fake Political Action Committee
  • Purchasing goods to support a candidate but never receiving them
  • Claiming that the voter hasn’t registered and needs to do so now

Protecting Yourself

  • Beware of unexpected calls, texts, or emails.  If they ask for your personal information or click a link, refuse to do so.
  • Contributions to a candidate are a donation, never an investment.  You won’t get your money back plus more.
  • Check if a Political Action Committee is real by searching for them on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) website.
  • Confirm that you are registered to vote at vote.gov.

If You Become a Victim

Take the following actions right away:

  1. Notify your bank or credit union if you find withdrawals you did not make.
  2. Gather information on who contacted you, how, what you were told to do, who they were with, etc.
  3. File a complaint with the FBI’s Internal Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
  4. File a complaint with the FTC at ftc.gov.