FBI Warns of 2026 Midterm Election Scams: 4 to Know

Election scams are back. On October 15, 2026, the FBI warned that scammers could use the 2026 U.S. midterm election to commit financial fraud. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, according to the Federal Election Commission. The warning updates a similar alert from the 2024 election, and the FBI notes that these schemes have also hit state and local elections.

The scammers borrow the names, images, logos and slogans of real candidates. They use them to collect fake campaign contributions, sell merchandise that never arrives and steal personal information that can be used for more fraud. The FBI adds that scammers now use artificial intelligence to create realistic voices, images and messages that impersonate candidates, campaigns, government offices and even people you know. That makes these scams harder to spot.

Like other government and official impostor scams, they work by borrowing trust.

What election scams is the FBI warning about?

The FBI describes four schemes:

1. Campaign investment pools. Scammers promise a guaranteed return on campaign contributions by “investing” in a pool that supposedly pays out after the candidate wins. Victims are encouraged to recruit friends to increase their share.
2. Scam PACs. Scammers pretend to raise money for a real political action committee, such as a Super PAC or a candidate’s campaign committee, but have no connection to it and keep the money.
3. Fake merchandise. Online stores sell political shirts, hats and signs that are never shipped, a classic non-delivery scam.
4. Voter registration texts. A text or email says you are not registered to vote in your state and links to a fake registration page. The page steals personal information for identity theft and to target you for more scams.

EXAMPLE — SCAM

Today 6:15 PM●●● ▮

# (202) 555-0147 Text message

ALERT: State election records show your voter registration is INACTIVE. You may not be able to vote in November. Reactivate now to keep your registration: https://voter-status-check.example.com

Can a campaign donation ever earn a return?

No. The FBI states plainly that campaign donations are not an investment: they will not increase in value and will not be returned. A pitch that promises profits from a candidate’s win, or asks you to bring in other “investors,” is a scam whatever candidate or party it names.

The same rule applies to any request that mixes politics and money in an unusual way: payment by gift card, cryptocurrency or wire transfer, or pressure to give “before midnight” to unlock a reward.

How do you check if a PAC is real?

Use the Federal Election Commission’s website. The FBI recommends looking up the political action, party or candidate committee and reviewing its registration and financial filings on FEC.gov before you give.

There’s a catch: the FBI says some scam PACs may actually appear to be registered. Look at how they spend their money. If a committee reports high expenses for fundraising, consulting, compliance or other administrative costs, it may be a scam. Also confirm that the phone number, email or website that contacted you really belongs to the organization it claims to represent.

If you want to support a candidate, the safest route is to go to the campaign’s official website yourself rather than responding to an unexpected call, text or email.

Is a text saying you’re not registered to vote real?

Treat it as suspicious. Don’t tap the link, even if it uses your state’s name or seal. To check your status, the FBI points to vote.gov. Type it into your browser yourself, and it will send you to your state’s official registration pages.

The FBI says the fake registration pages are built to steal personal information for identity theft and to target you for more fraud. If you already entered information on a page you reached from a text, watch your accounts closely and consider the steps in our first-hour checklist after a scam.

Fake political stores work the same way as other copycat shopping sites. Before you buy, use our checklist for checking if a website is legit, and pay by credit card so you can dispute the charge.

What about AI calls from candidates?

The FBI warns that AI can now produce highly realistic voices and images of candidates, campaigns and officials. A call that sounds exactly like a well-known politician asking for an urgent donation, or for your personal details, is not proof of anything. Read more about how AI voice cloning and deepfakes are used in scams.

In a separate October 2026 announcement about election crimes, the FBI also asks voters to get election information from trustworthy sources, to verify who produced the content they see, and to use official websites to find the date, time and place to vote.

Where do you report election scams?

The FBI asks people to report election-related scams to their local FBI field office or to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov. Include as much detail as you can:

• The name of the person or company that contacted you.
• Their phone number, address, email address and websites.
• How you paid and how much, if you paid.
• How the contact started, what you were told and what you provided.

If you paid by card or bank transfer, call your bank or card company right away. For other places to report, see where to report a scam.