DELAWARE COUNTY, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Delaware County residents are being targeted with election-related phishing emails and texts. A county election official has some advice for how to avoid the scams, and what to do if anyone should fall into a trap.
The deceptive messages often contain misleading information about voter registration status and mail ballots, and some even attempt to collect personal data through phishing tactics, according to Director of Elections Jim Allen.
“We’re hearing calls from people who have already applied to receive an absentee ballot. They’re getting a text message that says, ‘You haven’t applied yet,’ ‘There’s a problem,’ or something like that,” Allen said.
“Or people who have been registered for 10, 15, 20 or 30 years, who are getting an email that says: Hey you’re not registered.”
Allen says people should look out for certain wording in these messages.
“Any time you receive something that says you need to take urgent action — that should be a red flag,” he said. “You don’t want to click on anything you get as a text message, because it might trigger a phone call.”
He says these scams have one goal.
“It might take you to a website that’s trying to get your personal information — like your Social Security number, your date of birth. They’re trying to commit identity theft.”
Allen encourages anyone who believes they have been the target of such a scam to reach out to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. They will be able to report malicious activity or phishing attempts to that office.
Allen advises voters to trust only their official dot-gov websites, e.g., delcopa.gov/vote, for accurate information about voting.
“We urge voters to trust official websites,” he said. “Go to vote.pa.gov/status, and then you’ll be able to check on your voter registration status or your application for a mail ballot.”