Eye on Scams: Political robocall scams

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – The 2024 United States presidential election is impossible to ignore and scam phone calls are turning political.

According to recent BBB Scam Tracker reports, scammers are using phony political fundraising calls to trick Americans into “donating” to a favorite candidate.

How the scam works is that you receive a robocall. It’s a recorded voice, perhaps one that resembles a potential presidential candidate. The recording claims rivals have been raising a lot of money and in order to see your favorite candidate elected, you need to donate immediately.

If you offer to give, you’ll be transferred to a live person and asked for your credit card information, but your money won’t go to support the political cause. Instead, the phony caller will take your money and/or personal information that can be used for identity theft. As the 2024 election campaign heats up, be on the lookout for more versions of this con.

How to Avoid Robocall Scams

• Screen your calls. If a call comes in from a number you don’t recognize, don’t answer. Even if the number looks familiar, be wary. Check the number on Whitepages.com (a BBB Accredited Business) to see if it’s been flagged with a fraud alert.
• Don’t respond to unsolicited robocalls. If you receive an unsolicited robocall that seems to come from a legitimate business, be cautious. Scammers can fake the caller ID results, and businesses are only allowed to call you via robocall with your written permission. If someone is calling you out of the blue, it’s most likely a scam. The best practice is to hang up the phone without interacting with the call. Don’t “press 1 to be removed from our list;” that could just confirm to the scammer that your number is valid.
• Register with the Do Not Call Registry. This step won’t prevent scammers from calling you, but it will reduce the number of legitimate marketing calls you receive, which will make it easier to identify the fraudulent ones. If you live in the United States, call 888-382-1222 or register online at Donotcall.gov. If you live in Canada, visit the National Do Not Call List.

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