Election Scams: Rising Voter Registration Scams and Political Donation Scams Ahead of Midterm Election

On November 3, 2026, Americans will head to the polls for the midterm general election. With all 345 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 seats in the Senate up for grabs, voters can expect a steady increase in campaign-related calls, texts and emails leading up to Election Day. Scammers know this surge in political outreach can make fraudulent messages harder to spot, using the moment to impersonate officials, spread false information, push political text scams or pressure people into sharing personal and financial details. 

Voter Registration Scams: How Fraudsters Use Fake Election Updates to Steal Personal Information 

A voter registration scam is a common way for fraudsters to collect personal information. These scams may come through phone calls, texts or emails that appear to be from election officials. The message may claim that your registration needs to be updated, that your information is incomplete or that you must provide details such as your social security number to remain eligible to vote. Some scammers may even say there is a fee to update your registration, which is not true in any jurisdiction. 

Official voter registration information typically comes by mail from your local election office and includes your polling location and hours. If you need to update your information, do so in person or by visiting a trusted government website that ends in “.gov” directly.  

Political Donation Scams: Warning Signs of Phony Fundraising Requests and Aggressive Outreach 

Political donation scams can also be difficult to identify, especially as imposters use more convincing tactics to sound legitimate. Some scammers create phony charities or political fundraising messages, while others use AI-generated audio or messaging to impersonate candidates and campaigns. These requests often create urgency, ask for sensitive information or demand payment through methods such as cryptocurrency or gift cards. Calls that are aggressive, harassing or vague about who is contacting you are also red flags. 

If you choose to donate to a candidate or campaign, pause before responding to any unsolicited request. Research the organization, avoid links sent by unknown phone numbers and go directly to the candidate’s official website to confirm you are donating through the correct campaign fund. 

If you determine an election message you received seems suspicious, report to the FCC , delete and share warnings with your friends and family.  

TNS Call Guardian® delivers industry-leading reputation profiling to identify call spoofing and unwanted robocalls in real time, helping Communications Service Providers (CSPs) protect consumers from election scams. Analyzing more than 1.9 billion call events each day and leveraging Do Not Originate (DNO), unallocated, invalid and unassigned numbers alongside STIR/SHAKEN and advanced analytics, it helps detect and stop suspicious calls or texts from reaching consumers. 

TNS Branding and Call Authentication Suite helps enterprises increase customer trust, improve outbound communication performance and reduce fraud and impersonation risk while protecting brand integrity and enabling more effective, verified and recognized customer connections. This comprehensive suite of products includes: Spoof Protection, TNS Enterprise Branded Calling and Telephone Number Reputation Monitoring. Together, they secure identity, establish recognizable branding and provide visibility into how calls are labeled. This creates a complete framework for trusted outbound communications across the enterprise.