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Before you give to a campaign: how to spot election and political donation scams

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Talk about it at home: jump to the Table Talks

Every election season brings calls, texts, emails, and ads asking for your money or your vote. Some are scams. The FBI warns that scammers use the names, images, logos, and slogans of candidates to ask for fake campaign contributions, sell merchandise that is never delivered, or steal personal information they can use for other fraud. This guide covers how to check a political ask before you give, whatever candidate or cause you support.

The four schemes the FBI describes

The FBI's public service announcement on election scams says election-related fraud schemes come in many varieties. It details four:

A donation is not an investment

The FBI puts it plainly: "Campaign donations are not an investment and will not increase in value nor be returned." So a pitch that promises a return, a payout after the election, or a bigger share for recruiting friends is a red flag, no matter who the candidate is. Our guide Guaranteed returns are a warning label explains why a promised return is a warning sign in any money pitch.

Do this now: If a political message mentions a return, a payout, or recruiting others, stop there and don't send money.

Check the committee before you give

The FBI advises checking a committee's registration and financial filings on the website of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), where you can look up a committee by name. Our advice: for a state or local race, check your state election office's website instead.

The FBI adds that a listing alone doesn't settle it. It says some scam PACs may appear registered, and that a PAC reporting high expenses for fundraising, consulting, compliance, or other administrative costs may be a scam.

The FTC's guidance on donation requests is written for charities, but it also flags that some calls that sound like charity calls might actually be from a PAC, and that donations to PACs aren't tax deductible. It suggests asking for the organization's exact name, website, and mailing address, then researching it, since some scammers use names that sound like real organizations.

Our advice: when you're ready to give, go to the campaign's or committee's official website by typing the address yourself or finding it through your own search, not through a link in a text, email, or ad. That matches the FTC's advice for unexpected texts asking for donations: don't use the information in the message, and donate directly. The FBI also says to confirm that contact information in an unsolicited message is associated with the organization it claims to represent.

Slow down, and pay in a way you can dispute

Our advice: use the FTC's warning signs for fake charity requests on political asks too. The FTC says scammers try to rush you so you don't have time to research. Caller ID can be faked. If a caller says you already pledged, stop and check. If the only way to pay is cryptocurrency, a wire transfer, a payment app, or a gift card, it's likely a scam. The FTC calls a credit card or check the safest way to donate.

After you give, the FTC says to review your statements to make sure you were charged only the amount you agreed to, and that you weren't signed up for a recurring donation you didn't mean to make.

Do this now: Look over your last card statement for political charges you don't recognize, or repeat charges you didn't choose.

Buying campaign merchandise

For the merchandise scheme, the FBI says to research a company before buying by checking reviews and complaints on BBB.org. Our advice: buy from the store linked on the campaign's official website, and pay by credit card.

Messages about your registration or how to vote

If a text or email says you aren't registered, don't use its link. The FBI says to check your voter registration at vote.gov. Vote.gov sends you to your state election website to confirm your registration status, and it says your state or local election office can help with questions. Our advice: treat any message about where, when, or how to vote the same way, and check it with your state or local election office directly.

AI can make a fake look real

The FBI says scammers also use AI tools "to generate highly realistic voices, images, and written messages that impersonate candidates, campaigns, government entities, and trusted contacts," and that the realism makes these schemes harder to detect.

Our advice: judge the request, not the polish. A video, voice message, or text that looks and sounds exactly like a candidate is still only a message. If it asks you to give through a new link, pay with a gift card or cryptocurrency, or share personal information, check it the same way you would any other ask. Our guides The typos are gone and A familiar voice isn't proof anymore explain why a convincing message or voice isn't proof of who sent it.

If you already gave money or information

Giving to a campaign is a normal part of civic life. A few minutes of checking helps your money go where you meant it to.

Teach it this week

Cyber

Political donation scams: how do you check a campaign ask before you give?

Big idea: A real campaign can wait while you check. Check the committee, give through the official site you found yourself, and never treat a donation as an investment.

Background for parents and grandparents: FBI: election scam warning

Table Talks (10 minutes)

  • Start: Show your family a made-up text: "Your candidate needs you! Give $50 to our victory pool and get $100 back after the win. Tap here." Ask: what does it want you to do?
  • Try it: Kids and grown-ups sort five made-up messages (a donation link in a text, a "guaranteed return" pool, a "you're not registered" alert, a shirt sale, a polished video asking for gift cards) into "check first" or "stop." For each, name the check: the FEC website, the campaign's official site typed in, vote.gov or the state election office, reviews before buying.
  • Wrap-up: Why can't a campaign donation pay you back?

Talk it over

  1. Have you ever seen an ad or message asking for money for a cause?
  2. Why might a scammer pretend to be a candidate or a campaign?
  3. If a video looked exactly like a famous person, how could you tell if it was really them?
  4. Who would you ask if a message about voting seemed odd?
  5. Shared activity: Screens off. Write a made-up scam text on paper together, then circle every clue: the rush, the link, the promised payback, the odd way to pay.
  6. Tonight's action: Agree on a family rule: no one gives money from a link in a message. Grown-ups type the campaign's website themselves first.

Use only made-up messages, never a real candidate or campaign. Free to use; please keep the source credit.

This lesson also has its own page: Political donation scams: how do you check a campaign ask before you give?.

Education only, not financial, legal or tax advice. Not a registered investment adviser.

Sources

Primary sources

  1. FBI's public service announcement on election scams, FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, "Scammers Exploit 2026 U.S. Midterm Election to Perpetrate Multiple Fraud Schemes," Alert Number I-101526-3-PSA, Oct 15, 2026, date checked: Oct 24, 2026
  2. FEC: look up a committee by name, Federal Election Commission, "Browse Committees," date checked: Oct 24, 2026
  3. vote.gov, "Register to vote in U.S. elections," date checked: Oct 24, 2026

Supporting links

  1. FTC: guidance on donation requests, FTC consumer advice, "Before Giving to a Charity," September 2025, date checked: Oct 24, 2026
  2. FTC: what to do if you were scammed, FTC consumer advice, "What To Do if You Were Scammed," June 2026, date checked: Oct 24, 2026