Election season gives phone scammers perfect cover, experts warn

Midterm season is giving phone scammers a place to hide. Americans are expected to get about 60 billion political texts by the time ballots are counted, and fraud experts and the FBI say fake calls and texts are mixed in with them, aiming to steal money and personal information.

Why it is hard to spot

Ron Kerbs, CEO of AI fraud prevention company Kidas, put it this way: a fraudulent call does not stand out when real political outreach is arriving at the same time. The estimate works out to about 170 messages per person.

Signing up for the Do Not Call registry will not fix this. Most political calls and texts are exempt from it. That leaves many voters unsure whether a pollster or campaign volunteer is real.

Voices add another problem. Kerbs says scammers can use public material on candidates to build realistic AI voice clones, then pair them with caller ID spoofing, which makes a call look like it comes from a real campaign. In 2024, AI-generated robocalls imitating then-President Joe Biden told New Hampshire voters to skip the primary. The FCC later moved to effectively ban unsolicited AI robocalls.

Who it affects

Any voter with a phone can be reached. People who get a lot of political texts and calls, and people who donate to campaigns online, are the most likely targets. The FBI says scammers copy the names, images, logos and slogans of candidates to collect donations, sell merchandise that never arrives, or steal personal information.

Common scams

• Fake election officials who claim something is wrong with your registration or ballot.
• Fake pollsters who want sensitive information.
• Fake campaigns or political action committees asking for donations.

Urgency is the biggest warning sign. A caller who says your registration is expiring or your ballot must be verified right away should be ended, not answered. Election officials never ask for money, Social Security numbers, verification codes or other personal information by phone. Registering to vote is free.

What to do

The steps in the alert box above cover the basics. The key idea is not to trust the name, number or voice alone, since a call can sound completely legitimate and still be a fraud. Check with an official source before you give anything.

What to watch for

Not every political call or text is a scam, and campaigns face federal limits on automated calls and texts sent without consent. The trouble is that real and fake look alike. The material does not say how many voters have been targeted so far. Expect the messages to keep coming until the election is over.