BBB Warns of Election Season Scams

As the presidential election season heats up, so does the risk of election-related scams.

The Better Business Bureau of Northeast Georgia is warning people to be on the lookout for campaign donation fraud.

Better Business Bureau Spokesperson Dottie Callina said that people need to be watching out for cons that prey on would-be political donors.

“Because it is the biggest news story and people want to know everything about it and hear everything about it, con artists or scammers love to take advantage of people when things like this happen,” said Callina.

Callina said that people may get a call from someone claming to represent a political candidate, raising money to support the campaign.

She also said the caller may claim to be collecting funds for a specific cause or group of people, such as healthcare reform or veterans.

“The caller will then ask you to donate and specifies a certain amount of money,” said Callina. “Now, consumers are reporting to us that when these scammers call them, they are typically very pushy and they demand immediate action.”

According to Callina, they ask for a person’s name, address, and credit card number.

“If you are thinking about it, here are three words, ‘Don’t do it!’,” said Callina.

Callina said if someone calls and wants personal information like banking account or credit card numbers, people should assume it is a scam call and hang up.

“If someone calls you and indicates they are with any political party and wants personal information or a credit card number, you can open yourself up to having fraudulent charges put on your credit card number or possibly even identity theft,” said Callina. “Even if the caller is not a scammer, some groups are not really well-managed and they may not spend your money the way they describe on the phone.”

She went on to say that people need to also watch out for callers claiming to be political pollsters.

“Polling companies do not offer prizes,” said Callina. “So if somebody calls and says you can win a prize for participating in this survey and providing your name and other information, just hang up, it is a scam. Lastly, polls do not ask for personal or banking information. They may ask about your vote or political affiliation, but they do not need your social security number or credit card information to do that survey.”

Also, she said people need to watch for spoof calls because a caller ID may say the call is from Washington, D.C., but scammers can fake this using technology.

According to Callina, the best thing for a person to do is to donate directly to the campaign through a website or at a local campaign office in-person.