FBI warns US voters: Midterm scammers are pitching a ‘guaranteed return’ on campaign cash. Protect yourself

According to the FBI, AI is now also being used by scammers to “generate highly realistic voices, images, and written messages that impersonate candidates, campaigns, government entities, and trusted contacts.”

How scammers could exploit the midterms

The FBI noted that there are many varieties of election-related schemes but provided four types that could emerge ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

The first is called the “campaign investment pool scheme.” In this scheme, scammers promise a “guaranteed return” on campaign contributions by investing in a candidate campaign pool. This pool supposedly pays out after the candidate wins the election. In certain cases, people are also encouraged to recruit others and grow their payout share.

The second scheme involves political action committees (PACs). Scammers make victims believe they are donating to a legitimate PAC associated with a candidate, but scammers have no real affiliation with the committee. Instead, the scammers keep the money.

The third is the non-delivery scheme. This one is simple: Scammers promise a piece of political merch that’s never delivered to the buyer.

Lastly, scammers send texts or emails to victims warning them they are not registered to vote in their state. The message includes a link that takes voters to a fake registration page where they fill out their personal information. According to the FBI, this scheme is a way to steal information for identity theft.

It’s important to note states administer elections differently and the deadline to register to vote may vary. Some states, like Florida, set firm deadlines of allowing registration up to 29 days before the election, while others like the District of Columbia allow in-person registration that same day.