Voter Fraud Cases: 5 Election Scams You Need To Avoid Today
It is the time of the decade again when many voter fraud cases are reported throughout the nation. As the whole world is looking forward at the U.S. Presidential elections, this is a perfect opportunity for scammers to operate while taking advantage of the naive.
Whether you are a supporter of Donald Trump or Joe Biden, beware of five scary Election scams happening during this time, including the Sharpie Scam. How does voter fraud work?
Watch the video below to see these scams exposed:
1.Removed Voter
You may get a phone call from someone saying that if you didn’t vote in the last election, you’d have to re-register as you’ve been removed from the list of registered voters. Many people fall victim to this scam because criminals claim that with the advancement of technology, voting now is easier than ever.
Always remember that you should never give your personal information to any strangers who may call you, even if they sound legitimate. If you get a call about your voter registration record, contact your state’s Board of Elections directly about your registration status.
2. Election Survey
Here is one of the most prevalent types of voter fraud cases. Scammers may call you offering fake cruises if you answer a survey about the election. It is the case of the Matthews Surveys Scam. How does it work?
After the short questionnaire is done, criminals ask for a very small fee (between $35-75) associated with the cruise taxes. It is enough to make the victim share his credit card information, thinking the trip is worth it.
3. Vote by Phone
You may also receive a text message informing you that you can cast your vote by phone. Conveniently, they callers provide you a website where you can do that.
This trick is not a financial fraud but a political one. It’s been discovered that the tricksters send this message only to people who are known for supporting one particular candidate. This way, the victims “vote” for their favorite on the fake website. These votes don’t count.
The automated text message is sent to hundreds of thousands of people at once via specific software — just a new type of voter fraud.
4. Donations For Your Favorite Candidate
It is also known that campaign office people call members of the constituency to ask for support and eventual donations. They might say, “the next 24 hours are critical in tipping the balance and making a difference. Thousands of volunteers are working in offices across the country. If you cannot join us, it’s important to support them with a warm meal, so they keep working for all of us who believe. Please consider donating a small amount”.
Scammers call thousands of people, impersonating campaign staff. As they often find many supporters of that particular politician, scammers use well-written scripts to convince the victim to donate money over the phone.
5. Voter Check-In
A different scam occurs when criminals call and ask the victims if they have verified their registration or eligibility online. Another expression that scammers use is “Check-in,” which they explain is something similar to what you do online before a flight. As the voters (recipients of the call) answer that they didn’t do their check-in, scammers offer to do it for them. They say it is “for a smoother process during the elections, especially now when the social distancing and COVID-19 make us be more responsible and avoid crowded places.”
In this particular case, crooks also ask for personal information, such as Social Security Number or credit card number.
Voter Fraud Cases: How To Avoid
Where do we start? As a rule of thumb, donations and payments over the phone have become very prevalent amongst scammers. If the call is real from a campaign office, make sure you have a way of verifying the identity of the person who is phoning – before you donate!
There is no such thing as voter registration done by a third party – nor a free cruise if you do a survey.
Finally, as we hope you know already, you cannot vote via phone calls, text messages, or random websites.
Voter Fraud 2020: How To Report a Scammer
Let your family and friends know about this group of voter scams by sharing the article on social media. You could officially report criminals and any other suspicious voter activity do it to the FTC using the link below:
How To Protect Yourself More
If you want to be the first to find out the most notorious scams every week, feel free to subscribe to the Scam Detector newsletter here. You’ll receive periodic emails – we promise not to spam.
Meanwhile, educate yourself with some other Amazon fraud-related articles right under this paragraph, so that you know how to stay safe online. Last but not least, use the Comments section below to expose other scammers.
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