Shanteya Hudson, producer/reporter, North Carolina News Service, a bureau of Public News Service.
Scammers are on the prowl this election season. They target the emotions of voters to steal donations, seek polling information, or gain their financial data.
The Better Business Bureau is warning residents about bad actors impersonating campaigns and nonprofit organizations.
Meredith Radford, senior communications specialist for the Better Business Bureau of the Eastern Carolinas, said as we get closer to the election, you may get an increase of calls, texts and emails. However, she warns be cautious.
Don’t fall for pressure tactics
“If they are pressuring you in any way to donate right now to them before you really have time to think it through and do research and see if it’s legitimate, or if they’re pressuring you for specific personal information that a pollster wouldn’t ask for,” Radford outlined.
She pointed out pollsters typically are looking for demographic information such as age. So keep in mind, a caller should not be asking for your Social Security number or account information.
Radford suggested another thing to remember is that prerecorded calls from legitimate candidates are exempt from the “Do Not Call Registry.” However, she warned scammers may use voice cloning to impersonate politicians. She advised not answering unknown numbers and letting legitimate callers leave a voice mail. She emphasized if something seems off, follow your gut and report suspected scams.
“If you do fall victim to a scam and end up giving them money or information, you can contact the FTC or the Attorney General’s Office,” Radford recommended. “Those can be great resources to do something about it.”
Radford stressed people should be on the lookout for fake links sent via text. She added people can report suspected scams to the Bureau’s scam tracker and use it as a resource to see other scams in their area.
