SCAMS BULLETIN Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California.

October 28, 2020

POLITICAL SCAM  PACs  

What is a scam PAC?

Legitimate political action committees (PACs) are federally registered groups formed to raise and spend money to elect or defeat candidates or support a favorite cause.

 Scam PACs exist primarily to raise money for themselves. Scammers are eager to take advantage of your civic engagement by tricking you into contributing to a bogus political action committee.

If you are a person with strong political beliefs, you might be tempted  by a chance to give a few dollars to support a candidate who shares your views, or an organization that advocates on an issue you care about

Scammers may claim to support a particular politician or cause, but the vast amount of donor dollars goes to cover fundraising costs and enrich the organizers. They collect big salaries or run affiliated companies that charge the PACs inflated fees for services.

Some PAC scams imitate charity scams, soliciting money to supposedly support law enforcement officers, veterans or cancer research. Whatever the pitch, it is a scam.

Warning Signs:

*A PAC has a name that sounds more like that of a charity. PACs registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) are supposed to focus on political activity.

*The PAC’s website does not list the names of the people running it or provide contact information.

*A caller claiming to be a pollster or elections official asks you for personal or financial data.

Do’s

*Do go to a candidate’s official campaign website to learn about the candidate or to donate.

*Do check out a PAC before you donate. You can look up individual groups and get detailed information on their fundraising, spending and leadership at the websites of the Federal Election Committee, or the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics.

*Do create a “refusal script” with potential responses to high-pressure fundraising requests. For example: “Let me review the organization and get back to you,” or, “I’ve already determined my donations for the year.”

Don’ts

*Don’t make donations or provide personal or financial information to organizations that contact you out of the blue.

*Don’t give in to pressure to contribute by a particular method. Scammers may push you to send a check, for example, ostensibly because it means processing fees will not be taken out of the donation but really because it makes it harder to dispute the charge.

*Don’t give to a PAC that does not ask about your citizenship status and employment. Real PACs do so because they are legally barred from taking donations from federal contractors and foreign nationals.

*Don’t provide private information to political canvassers. They should not ask for personal information other than whether you are registered to vote and who you plan to vote for. 

Have you experienced this scam?

You can call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline: 877-908-3360

ATTRIBUTION: AARP