FBI warns of fraud schemes exploiting the 2026 US midterm elections, including AI-enabled candidate impersonation
The FBI warns that scammers are likely to exploit the 2026 US Midterm Election to run financial fraud schemes against victims across the United States. The PSA updates alert I-102924-PSA from 29 October 2024. Scammers use candidates' names, images, logos and slogans to solicit fake campaign contributions, sell merchandise that is never delivered, or harvest PII for further fraud. They also use AI tools to generate realistic voices, images and messages that impersonate candidates, campaigns, government entities and trusted contacts, which makes the schemes harder to detect.
Technical Details
- Campaign Investment Pool Scheme: victims are promised guaranteed returns on contributions to a candidate pool that pays out if the candidate wins, and are encouraged to recruit others.
- ScamPACs: fake Political Action Committees, Super PACs or candidate committees collect donations and keep the funds.
- Merchandise non-delivery fraud: political merchandise is sold but never shipped.
- Voter Registration Scheme: text messages or emails claim the recipient is not registered to vote and link to a fraudulent state registration page that steals PII for identity theft and follow-on fraud.
- AI-generated voice, image and text content is used for impersonation.
Remediation
- Be cautious with unsolicited calls, texts, emails and surveys. Do not click unknown links or give PII to unknown parties.
- Campaign donations are not investments and will not increase in value or be returned.
- Verify PAC, party and committee registration and financial filings on the FEC website. High fundraising, consulting or administrative expenses can indicate a scam PAC.
- Confirm that contact information belongs to the organization it claims to represent.
- Research sellers on BBB.org and check voter registration at vote.gov.
- Report incidents to the local FBI field office or IC3 (ic3.gov). Include contact identifiers, payment details and a description of the interaction.
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FBI warns of fraud schemes exploiting the 2026 US midterm elections, including AI-enabled candidate impersonation
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The FBI warns that scammers are likely to exploit the 2026 US Midterm Election to run financial fraud schemes against victims across the United States. The PSA updates alert I-102924-PSA from 29 October 2024. Scammers use candidates' names, images, logos and slogans to solicit fake campaign contributions, sell merchandise that is never delivered, or harvest PII for further fraud. They also use AI tools to generate realistic voices, images and messages that impersonate candidates, campaigns, government entities and trusted contacts, which makes the schemes harder to detect.
Technical Details
- Campaign Investment Pool Scheme: victims are promised guaranteed returns on contributions to a candidate pool that pays out if the candidate wins, and are encouraged to recruit others.
- ScamPACs: fake Political Action Committees, Super PACs or candidate committees collect donations and keep the funds.
- Merchandise non-delivery fraud: political merchandise is sold but never shipped.
- Voter Registration Scheme: text messages or emails claim the recipient is not registered to vote and link to a fraudulent state registration page that steals PII for identity theft and follow-on fraud.
- AI-generated voice, image and text content is used for impersonation.
Remediation
- Be cautious with unsolicited calls, texts, emails and surveys. Do not click unknown links or give PII to unknown parties.
- Campaign donations are not investments and will not increase in value or be returned.
- Verify PAC, party and committee registration and financial filings on the FEC website. High fundraising, consulting or administrative expenses can indicate a scam PAC.
- Confirm that contact information belongs to the organization it claims to represent.
- Research sellers on BBB.org and check voter registration at vote.gov.
- Report incidents to the local FBI field office or IC3 (ic3.gov). Include contact identifiers, payment details and a description of the interaction.