Lee is president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a non-profit that raises awareness of scams and supports victims of such crimes. The organization has seen a spike in attempted election scams amid the midterms.
“Professional scam operators know that if people are inclined to give to candidates, they’re ready to make those last-minute contributions,” he told Moneywise.
Robert Siciliano, a cybersecurity expert and CEO of ProtectNow, said global crime rings are running these scams as highly organized businesses, exploiting anyone they want. Right now, it’s voters in the U.S. midterms.
“Natural disasters, holidays coming, they’re looking at the focus of the day, week, month, year,” Siciliano told Moneywise. “It’s the editorial calendar of fraud.”
Top 4 election scams on the FBI’s radar in 2026
Most scams start via email, texts or in online ads because that’s a cheap, efficient way to reach millions of people. Most people spot them right away, but Siciliano noted 3% to 5% of the general population will fall victim to one. And that’s more than enough for swindlers.
Election scams are so widespread that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a warning about four big ones on their watchlist this year.
Campaign Investment Pool Scheme
Lee says this is a new swindle. Con artists send a text or email to people offering a payout if they invest in a candidate’s campaign and the candidate wins. From a victim’s perspective, it’s a tantalizing get-rich-quick offer.
“People have been wanting quick ways to make money since the beginning of time,” Siciliano said. Sadly, the payout never comes and the only people who get rich quick are the fraudsters.
Lee suspects this scheme was inspired by online prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi where people bet on the outcomes of sports events, elections and more — and can get payouts, although that’s tough to come by. But while prediction markets are federally regulated businesses that pay out money, campaign investment pools are unregulated scams that never pay out.
Political Action Committee Scheme, or ScamPACs
There are 9,176 PACs operating in 2026, according to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). That makes it easy for fraudsters to impersonate one, complete with a fake AI-enhanced website.
Scammers ask people to donate to their bogus PAC. Lee said they might ask victims to sign up online for a recurring payment of $10 or $25, charged to their credit cards or bank accounts. By the time the election is over, victims may have lost several hundred dollars and handed over their account information.
