Watch out for these five political text and call scams

CHARLOTTE — You’re probably getting a lot of political calls and texts, especially ever since President Biden dropped out of the race.

Dan Pliszka says his phone’s been going off a bunch lately. “It’s like, ‘Oh, here’s another one,’” he told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke. “We’re like throwing up our hands saying which ones of these are legitimate? Which are taking part of it and skimming it and sending it in? Or which ones are just a pure scam?”

Stoogenke wants to make sure you don’t fall victim to scams.

Equifax’s Identity Theft Protection team divides political call and text scams into five categories:

- Fake Polls and Surveys

- Donation Scams

- Impersonation Scams

- Questionable Petitions

- Voter Registration Scams

“If you’re uncomfortable providing any of that information, don’t. It’s not necessary,” said Ben Erdel, VP and General Manager of the team. “The general rules are don’t feel pressured to act immediately. Always go straight to the source if you can. And, if you’re ever in doubt, just hang up or block the text.”

Pliszka goes one step further. “I immediately delete them whether I know they’re good or not or if it’s a favorable candidate to me or something like that,” he said. “I just delete them because I don’t know who wants to steal my information, who … all the stuff [Action 9 does] the stories on.”

If you have any questions about your voter registration, go to vote.gov or nass.org/can-I-vote.

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