Five election-themed scam types: fake voter registration, donations, surveys, fines and merchandise
Malwarebytes outlines five election-themed scam categories that exploit urgency and trust in political figures to steal money or personal information. They include fake voter-registration or absentee-ballot offers, impersonated candidate donation appeals, fraudulent political surveys promising rewards, fake electoral fines or election-duty notices, and bogus politician-branded merchandise.
The article cites a text message abusing the name of a real Minnesota permanent absentee voter list service, and an FBI warning about fraudulent voter-registration pages that harvest personal data. In Brazil, scammers used a fake WhatsApp account bearing the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) logo, posing as a nonexistent "Customer Service Department" and pushing an app called "Soluciona Pendência". The TSE also warned about messages linking to fake government sites that steal data or collect payments. The BBB warns about fake polling calls that ask for card details to cover shipping or taxes on a prize.
Detalhes técnicos
- Lures are delivered by SMS, WhatsApp, phone calls and links to fraudulent sites.
- Fake sites collect personal information or payment details.
- The Brazilian lure promotes a malicious or fraudulent app, "Soluciona Pendência"; the article gives no technical analysis of it.
- Impersonation of candidates, fundraisers and electoral authorities is used throughout.
Remediação
- Verify messages through official election authority websites, not the links, numbers or QR codes in the message.
- Independently find campaigns and organizations before donating.
- Never give payment details to unsolicited surveys.
- Check sellers before buying political merchandise.
- Use real-time web protection and tools such as Malwarebytes Scam Guard.
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Five election-themed scam types: fake voter registration, donations, surveys, fines and merchandise
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Malwarebytes outlines five election-themed scam categories that exploit urgency and trust in political figures to steal money or personal information. They include fake voter-registration or absentee-ballot offers, impersonated candidate donation appeals, fraudulent political surveys promising rewards, fake electoral fines or election-duty notices, and bogus politician-branded merchandise.
The article cites a text message abusing the name of a real Minnesota permanent absentee voter list service, and an FBI warning about fraudulent voter-registration pages that harvest personal data. In Brazil, scammers used a fake WhatsApp account bearing the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) logo, posing as a nonexistent "Customer Service Department" and pushing an app called "Soluciona Pendência". The TSE also warned about messages linking to fake government sites that steal data or collect payments. The BBB warns about fake polling calls that ask for card details to cover shipping or taxes on a prize.
Technical Details
- Lures are delivered by SMS, WhatsApp, phone calls and links to fraudulent sites.
- Fake sites collect personal information or payment details.
- The Brazilian lure promotes a malicious or fraudulent app, "Soluciona Pendência"; the article gives no technical analysis of it.
- Impersonation of candidates, fundraisers and electoral authorities is used throughout.
Remediation
- Verify messages through official election authority websites, not the links, numbers or QR codes in the message.
- Independently find campaigns and organizations before donating.
- Never give payment details to unsolicited surveys.
- Check sellers before buying political merchandise.
- Use real-time web protection and tools such as Malwarebytes Scam Guard.