With the 2024 election campaigns in full gear, as usual, scammers find a way to take advantage of the situation to skim off some cash for themselves.
Election
campaigns can be high energy and emotional, especially in this era of polarized
politics. Scammers are adept at quickly establishing their false credentials to
appeal for financial help, as in charity scams, for a worthy cause whipping up
their victims’ emotions to pay right away because the cause needs their help
now.
Scammers have
migrated the charity scam model to elections by claiming to be a Political
Action Committee (PAC) backing or opposing a candidate or cause. Legitimate
PAC’s back candidates or causes spending no more than 25% of their donations on
fund raising and administrative costs with the rest going to advertising and
other techniques that promote their candidate or cause.
Scam PACs find
ways to mask the pocketing of their donations to the organizers by distributing
the funds to vendors which are owned by the organizers. And often, Scam PACs spend
more than 25% of their donations on fund raising and administrative costs.
The Federal
Election Commission (FEC) regulates PACs supporting or working to defeat candidates
for federal office. In Washington State, the Public Disclosure Commission (PDA)
regulates candidate committees, political committees, lobbyists, and lobbyist
employers. Scam PACs may or may not register with the FEC and/or the PDC. Those
that do not are obviously PACs to stay away from Those that do, may give an
indication in their financial filings that they may be not as legitimate or as
efficient in their operations as they would like you to think they are.
Verify. Like with charities, if you feel motivated to donate to a PAC take
a deep breath and verify that the PAC is legitimate before you send money. Make
sure the PAC is registered with the FEC or the PDA. If they are, take a look at
their financial filings and see where they spend their money. Is more than 25%
going to administrative costs? See who the PAC uses for vendors. Are the
vendor’s registration addresses the same as for the PAC? If so, then the PAC
may be a scam. Check the PAC’s website. Legitimate PACs should have one. Check
for the person who heads the PAC. Websites that do not have the names and
contact information of people running the PAC or the contact information for
the PAC may be a scam. Check the contact phone number for the PAC. Is it in service?
If not, it may be a scam. Look up PACs at,
Federal Election Commission: https://www.fec.gov/
Public Disclosure Commission: https://www.pdc.wa.gov/
Open Secrets: https://www.opensecrets.org/
Emotion. We have strong emotions about our politics during this election
campaign. Scammers know how to play on our emotions to get us to act without thinking.
And they will put the pressure on to act now, without doing your research.
Name
confusion. While PACs can be associated with legitimate
nonprofit organizations and campaigns, scam PACs may have names that closely
mimic ongoing candidate political campaigns or ongoing issue campaigns. All the
more reason to research the PAC to determine its legitimacy.
Phishing
attempts. Scam PACs use similar methods to contact
potential donors as legitimate political campaigns and a wide variety of scam
efforts. If you receive an email or text message that purports to represent a
candidate or a PAC, be careful of any links that may be embedded in the message.
Don’t click on the link. Find the PAC’s website with a web search or look it up
on the FEC website or the PDA website. If you get a phone call, don’t call the call
back phone number. Look it up on a web search.
Election
cybersecurity tips. Scammers can pretend to be
pollsters. Some tricks that scam pollsters use include prizes to encourage
completing surveys, ask for personal information such as birth dates, social
security numbers, or financial information, information legitimate pollsters do
not need.
Voter
registration. Registering to vote is an
important part of the election process. Sometimes scammers will call and offer voter
registration. No state offers voter registration by phone! To learn about how
to register to vote in Washington State check out this link at the Secretary of
State’s website- https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections#voters
For more
information about Scam PACs and more tips to avoid being victimized by Scam
PACs checkout the following links.
Verify:
“Political Parasites: How Scam PACs Cheat Us” report by the office
of Representative Katie Porter (D, CA):
https://porter.house.gov/uploadedfiles/final_scampacsreport_december2023.pdf
Better Business Bureau:
https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/27597-political-scams-increase-as-elections-near
Open Secrets:
FBI:
https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/scam-pacs-are-on-the-rise-041521
Charity Watch
AARP:
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/scam-pacs.html