LINDEN

A message asks you to donate to a campaign you support.

Fake campaign donation scams, sometimes called ScamPACs, use candidates' names to collect money. This post explains how to check before you give.

Source: This post is based on the public service announcement Scammers Exploit 2026 U.S. Midterm Election to Perpetrate Multiple Fraud Schemes, published by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) on October 15, 2026.

A call, text or email asks you to give to a campaign or cause you care about. It uses a familiar name, logo or slogan, and it may even sound like the candidate’s own voice. It feels urgent, as if your donation is needed today. Some of these appeals are fake campaign donation scams, sometimes called ScamPACs, and the money never reaches the campaign. Before you give, do not use the link or number in the message, and check the committee yourself on the Federal Election Commission website.

The FBI’s IC3 warned on October 15, 2026, that scammers could exploit the 2026 midterm election to commit fraud. It says campaign donations are not an investment and will not increase in value or be returned.

What the scam looks like

The FBI says scammers use the names, images, logos and slogans of candidates to ask for campaign contributions, sell merchandise that is never delivered, or steal personal information that can be used for other fraud. It says they also use artificial intelligence to create realistic voices, images and messages that impersonate candidates, campaigns, government bodies and trusted contacts.

The FBI describes several versions:

  • Fake political committees, known as ScamPACs. People believe they are donating to a legitimate political action committee or a candidate’s campaign committee, but the scammers have no connection to it and keep the money.
  • A campaign “investment pool”. Scammers promise a guaranteed return on a contribution, paid out after the candidate wins, and encourage people to recruit others. A promise of guaranteed returns is a warning sign in any investment pitched by someone you met online too.
  • Political merchandise that never arrives. Scammers take payment for goods and do not ship them.
  • Fake voter registration messages. A text or email says you are not registered to vote and links to a fake registration page that collects personal information. This works like a text about a package you did not order.

Who it targets

The FBI says these schemes target people across the United States and have previously exploited state and local elections. Anyone who supports a candidate or cause, and who wants to help, can be targeted, whatever their politics.

Warning signs

  • An unexpected call, text, email or survey asking for a political donation.
  • Pressure to give right away.
  • A promise that your contribution will earn a return or be paid back.
  • A request to recruit friends or family to “invest” too.
  • A voice or video that sounds like a candidate but reaches you out of the blue. The FBI says AI can make these very realistic.
  • A message saying you are not registered to vote, with a link to click.

How to protect yourself

  • Be cautious with unsolicited contact. The FBI advises caution with unsolicited calls, texts, emails or surveys, and not clicking unknown links or giving personal information to people you do not know.
  • Remember what a donation is. The FBI says campaign donations are not an investment and will not increase in value or be returned.
  • Check the committee. The FBI advises verifying a political action, party or candidate committee’s registration and financial filings on the Federal Election Commission website.
  • Look at where the money goes. The FBI says some scam committees may appear registered, and that high reported spending on fundraising, consulting, compliance or other administrative costs may be a sign of a scam.
  • Confirm contact details match the organisation the message claims to represent.
  • Check your voter registration at www.vote.gov, as the FBI advises, rather than through a link in a message.

A simple family plan

  • Give only through channels you looked up yourself, never through a link or number in an unexpected message.
  • Agree a pause. Wait a day before responding to any urgent donation request, and talk it over if it is a large amount.
  • Keep politics out of the check. Whatever anyone’s views, the family agrees to verify every appeal the same way.
  • Help each other check. Show relatives how to look up a committee on the FEC website.

Scams don’t stop at borders

This alert is about a US election, but appeals that use a good cause to collect money for criminals happen in many countries, around elections, charities and appeals of all kinds. Wherever you live, it is worth staying informed and being wise before sending money to any cause that contacted you first.

The same pattern elsewhere

In the United Kingdom, the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit reported on a bogus charity collector on July 17, 2026. A woman posed as a collector for a well-known lifeboat charity in Bath and Exeter. The unit said one donor who thought they were giving £2 by card reader had the amount secretly changed to £20, and that she made over 3,600 successful transactions before her arrest. The same lesson applies: confirm who you are giving to before any money changes hands.

What to do if you’ve been affected

If you have given money or personal information to a fake appeal, please do not feel ashamed. These scams borrow the look and voice of people you trust. Then:

  • US: report it to your local FBI field office or to the FBI’s IC3, and report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If you are 60 or older and need help filing with IC3, call the DOJ Elder Justice Hotline on 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).
  • UK: call 159 to reach your bank (Stop Scams UK) and report to Report Fraud or on 0300 123 2040.
  • Canada: report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
  • Contact your bank on the number printed on your card or statement, not a number from the message.

How Linden helps

Linden is being built so older adults and their families can talk a money decision through with someone they trust. Giving to a cause should feel good, and a quick check with someone you trust helps make sure the money reaches the people you meant to support.

Sources

All scams