Election fraud alert: Steps to safeguard your vote

Everywhere you turn, there’s another online scam. The fraudsters always pivot where the attention is and now that’s politics and elections.

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Beware of phony donation campaigns

Billions of dollars are pouring into the 2024 House, Senate, and presidential elections. I bet you’ve received a call or 10 from folks asking you to pull out your wallet. The pleas come in text form, too, plus there are videos, social media posts and DMs.

DO THIS WITH YOUR FAMILY VIDEOS BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

Here are a few dos and don’ts for keeping your money safe.

• Do use a credit card. Checks and debit cards don’t have the same scam protections.
• Don’t give payment info over the phone. Find the official website and donate there.
• Don’t click links. That includes those in emails, texts or any other source. When in doubt, visit the official campaign website of the person you want to support.
• Do verify it’s a real organization. Here’s a list of registered PACs maintained by the Federal Election Commission.
• Do a search for the PAC name. Hey, it’s worth it to see if anything shady pops up. Some funnel money to their own advisors and marketing budget — not to the candidate they claim to support. This page is useful, too.

Social media pro tip: TikTok banned political fundraising in 2022. Anything you see there asking you to donate is likely a scam — or someone skirting the rules and you don’t want to be involved with that, either.

False info is spreading faster than ever

ONE LIE SECURITY EXPERTS USE ALL THE TIME AND YOU SHOULD, TOO

It’s not just your wallet you need to worry about. Fake news travels fast online — I’ve seen everything from "The election is canceled" to "Non-citizens get to vote