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The fervor surrounding the 2024 election means many of us are bombarded with political ads in the mail, on TV, on social media and just about everywhere else. Perhaps none are more persistent than fundraising text messages.
The popularity of texting makes it an effective way for campaigns to get your attention. And where there's an effective marketing tactic, there will always be swindlers taking advantage.
"Scams are rampant in [committees representing] both parties right now," said Mike Nellis, founder and CEO of Authentic, a digital marketing and fundraising agency.
A lot of people, understandably, just want to make the election text messages stop. But if you're looking to support your candidate, responding to a political text can seem like an easy way to donate. But how do you separate legitimate texts from spam texts?
Red flags that a fundraising text is a scam
Next time you get a questionable campaign message on your phone, look for these warning signs:
1. A pushy tone
Your first line of defense against grifters is your intuition and common sense. If a text promises something that's too good to be true -- like a 500% match on your donation -- it probably is. An overly urgent and pushy text could also indicate a grift.
"A good faith actor is going to treat you with respect," said Nellis. He said a message from a candidate usually includes a personal story, as well as a cadence and voice that's recognizable as the candidate. Organizations that just want to trick you into donating money tend to write with less finesse.
Tip: Unlike other scam texts, urgency isn't always an indicator of a political donation scam. Legitimate operations may add urgency to fundraising efforts to get you to donate before a specific deadline. These might feel pushy, but they don't necessarily point to a scam.
2. No disclaimer
Every piece of marketing for an election is required to include a "Paid for By" disclaimer that lets you know the organization behind it.
Most texts don't include this disclaimer in the body of the message, but it should be on the page the text links to. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find "Paid for By" followed by the committee name. A candidate committee lists just its name, while a political action committee or other independent actor must also include a note along the lines of "Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee."
If you don't see a disclaimer, don't donate.
Vice President Kamala Harris's principal campaign committee is Harris for President. Harris Victory Fund and Harris Action Fund are affiliated. Former President Donald Trump's campaign committee is Donald J. Trump for President 2024.
3. No committee registration
If the ad or donation page hasn't been created by a campaign or party committee, give the organization a quick look before donating money.
You can vet a committee by checking its official registration. For federal offices, search a committee name at fec.gov/data to see whether it's registered with the Federal Election Commission. For state and local offices, search with your state election commission.
This registration ensures a committee isn't fraudulent, but that doesn't guarantee it's using your donation in good faith. Nellis pointed out it's surprisingly simple to register a committee and start fundraising.
"It's very easy for people to put together online fundraising communications that make it seem like it's going to elect [candidates] when it's actually going to some consultant's pocketbook," he said.
4. A URL that starts with 'http'
Before you pull out your credit card, check the URL of the donation page to make sure it's secure.
A URL beginning in "https" indicates a level of security that's safe for entering financial information. (In Safari, you'll see a padlock icon, and in Chrome you can click to the left of the URL to see a "connection is secure" note.)
Don't enter payment information if the URL begins with only "http" instead of "https."
The best way to avoid donation scams
You can't always stop scam donation texts from hitting your phone, but you can make sure your dollars go to the correct organization. The best way to guarantee a candidate benefits from your dollars, according to Nellis, is to go right to their website.
"When you're making small dollar contributions, with few exceptions," he said, "I would always be trying to donate directly to the candidate's campaign."
- The official website to donate to Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is kamalaharris.com.
- The official website to donate to former President Donald Trump's campaign is donaldjtrump.com.
What if you donate by mistake?
If you've donated to a legitimate organization by mistake, you can reach out to the payment processor. Nearly every campaign or PAC uses one of two services: Democrats use ActBlue, and Republicans use WinRed.
Both ActBlue and WinRed allow you to request refunds if you donated to a legitimate organization by mistake. If that doesn't work, you can also initiate a dispute with your credit card issuer, which will investigate the claim and determine whether to refund your money.
In both cases, however, refunds aren't designed to remedy being grifted. If a committee is acting within campaign finance law and you clicked the right buttons to authorize a transaction, retrieving your money could be tough.
You could report the bad actor to help prevent others from their grift -- but that could prove difficult, too. Even complaints to the FEC or your state commission might not stop a PAC that's acting within the law, even if its tactics are unsavory.
Watch out for add-on donations
Read all the details on a donation page before you authorize a transaction to make sure you only donate the amount you want to donate.
Look for checkboxes that authorize future donations, such as monthly donations or a scheduled future donation. These might be automatically checked to rope you into spending more money than you planned. Opt out by unchecking the box if you only want to donate once.
Recovering your money from a surprise recurring charge is difficult, so make sure you know exactly what you're giving before you complete the transaction.