Malwarebytes warns voters of five election themed scams

Malwarebytes described five election-themed scams designed to steal money or personal information. Messages may offer to simplify voting, warn that registration is incomplete or about to be cancelled, solicit campaign donations, promise a survey prize, demand payment of an electoral fine, or advertise merchandise supposedly endorsed by a politician.

One text message reviewed by Malwarebytes falsely offered to add recipients to Minnesota’s permanent absentee voter list, borrowing language from a real service but linking to a fraudulent site. The FBI has warned that fake voter-registration pages can harvest personal information for further fraud. In Brazil, a fake WhatsApp account using the Superior Electoral Court’s logo urged people to download an app and falsely warned they could lose access to banking or government services.

The FBI also warns that impostors use candidates’ identities and political fundraising groups to divert contributions. The Better Business Bureau has warned of survey calls that request card details to cover delivery or other costs for a supposed prize.

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court has separately warned about fake government sites that steal information or trick people into paying alleged electoral fines. The scams can use official-looking demands, candidate branding or claims of urgency; a politician’s image does not prove an endorsement, and a poor-value product alone is not necessarily fraudulent.

Malwarebytes advises checking voting requirements, alleged fines and donation requests through official websites found independently, and verifying sellers before paying. It also cautions against supplying payment details to unsolicited surveys or using links, phone numbers or QR codes provided in suspicious messages.