CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With the 2024 presidential election just a few months away, many people are getting a lot of text messages from political parties and candidates.
Most of these messages are sent by campaigns to party organizers to rally support from registered voters in their area, but some of these messages could be scammers trying to trick people into giving them money under the guise of a donation.
A WCNC Charlotte viewer shared one of these text messages with the VERIFY team, asking if it's real or not. The viewer wanted to know if it could be trusted or if these messages should be ignored and reported.
THE QUESTION
Are political text messages legitimate or scams?
OUR SOURCES
WHAT WE FOUND
O'Rork says generally, you shouldn't trust anything that shows up unsolicited, even if you think it might be safe. Right off the bat, you should know to never respond to any text that randomly comes to your phone.
"During election season we do see a lot of these text messages and it's phishing or smishing," O'Rork said. "These people just want your information."
VERIFY looked up the phone number associated with the text message in question and it was a Washington, D.C., area code. Calling the number resulted in a busy tone.
In the text, you can see it wants users to take a poll by clicking a link. Robokiller says political survey scams will often ask for fake polling. Clicking on a link could bring you to a page offering prizes for participating, but then they require users to enter their credit card information to cover the shipping for the prize.
O'Rork says this is a glaring red flag that should make everyone pump the brakes. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true (like a free gift for a survey), it probably is.
"Our recommendation is if it's an unsolicited text, don't respond," she said. "You can reach out to your local election offices. Look at the phone number. You can also reach out to the BBB and we can try to help you."
The best thing to do? Don't click and don't respond.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
WCNC Charlotte's Verify series is all about trying to make a difference in the Carolinas by making sure the community has the correct information. WCNC Charlotte outlines concisely what we know and what we don't know. Sometimes the answer can be surprising. Watch previous stories where we verify social media claims in the YouTube playlist below and subscribe to get updated when new videos are uploaded.
VERIFY is dedicated to helping the public distinguish between true and false information. The VERIFY team, with help from questions submitted by the audience, tracks the spread of stories or claims that need clarification or correction. Have something you want VERIFIED? Text us at 704-329-3600 or visit VERIFY.