The 2020 presidential election is right around the corner, and with it comes an increase in people updating their voter registration or registering to vote for the first time. Scammers love to use opportunities like these to steal sensitive information. There are two ways voter registration scams can occur.

Identity Theft

Scammers, posing as election officials, contact you by phone, email, or in-person asking you for personal or financial information to help you register to vote. The communication comes from someone other than your state or local election official.

If you provided personal or financial information and later realized it was a scam, visit IdentityTheft.gov from the Federal Trade Commission to file a report and create a personalized plan for recovery.

Government Imposter Scams

Fraudsters pretend to be an election official and contact you by email, text, phone, or social media. For example, you receive an unsolicited phone call asking you to pay a fee to complete your voter registration paperwork. After you pay, you never receive your voter registration card in the mail.

Voting this November is important and, if you haven’t already, we encourage you to register to vote. If you are unable to receive a registration form from your city or local election board office, you can find one at EAC.gov with your state’s voter registration requirements.

If you have experienced any of these voter registration scams, please visit FightCybercrime.org for more reporting and recovery resources.

This blog was written by Aric Bird, one of CSN’s past marketing interns, and an Eastern Michigan University student pursuing a master’s in Communications.