FBI updates its midterm scam alert, saying scammers are using AI-generated candidate voices and fake voter-registration pages
FBI warns that scammers are using AI-generated voices, images and messages to pose as candidates three weeks before the 2026 midterms. Cofense's Max Gannon says to verify any solicitation through the FEC website or vote.gov, never the link sent.
The Watch · Security desk
Text and email recipients get links to a fake voter registration page, which the FBI says steals PII; campaign pool victims are promised a guaranteed return; donations will not be returned; X suspended more than 13,000 accounts; Gannon advises checking the FEC website or vote.gov.
- Who's exposed exposure Text and email recipients Told they are not registered to vote and sent a link to a fake state voter registration page, claim 7
- What it costs cost Registration page victims FBI: the page is a means to steal PII for identity theft and potentially further fraud, claim 8
- Who's exposed exposure Campaign pool victims Promised a guaranteed return from a candidate campaign pool that supposedly pays out after the candidate wins, claim 6
- What it costs cost Donors FBI: campaign donations are not an investment and will not increase in value nor be returned, claim 9
- Who has to decide decision X Suspended more than 13,000 accounts involved in three suspected foreign influence operations, claim 12
- What's now possible capability Employees Gannon: pause and verify through a source you find, such as the FEC website or vote.gov, never the link sent, claim 11
| Who | How | Kind | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text and email recipients | Told they are not registered to vote and sent a link to a fake state voter registration page | exposure | 7 |
| Registration page victims | FBI: the page is a means to steal PII for identity theft and potentially further fraud | cost | 8 |
| Campaign pool victims | Promised a guaranteed return from a candidate campaign pool that supposedly pays out after the candidate wins | exposure | 6 |
| Donors | FBI: campaign donations are not an investment and will not increase in value nor be returned | cost | 9 |
| X | Suspended more than 13,000 accounts involved in three suspected foreign influence operations | decision | 12 |
| Employees | Gannon: pause and verify through a source you find, such as the FEC website or vote.gov, never the link sent | capability | 11 |
What happened
- The alert updates a similar FBI warning issued ahead of the 2024 general election.
- The FBI says scammers use candidates' identities to solicit contributions, sell merchandise that is never delivered, or steal personally identifiable information for other fraud.
- One scheme promises a guaranteed return on contributions through a candidate campaign pool that supposedly pays out after the candidate wins, and urges victims to recruit others.
- Another scheme sends a text or email claiming the recipient is not registered to vote, with a link to a fake state voter registration page.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint A solicitation can no longer be judged by how it sounds or reads, so the check has to happen outside the message, through a source the recipient finds independently.
- What it costs cost Victims carry the loss. The FBI says campaign donations are not an investment and will not be returned, and PII taken through a fake registration page feeds identity theft.
- Who has to decide decision Security teams have to decide whether election solicitations get a named place in phishing training, since the verification step costs a lookup and no new tooling.
The schemes the FBI describes run on impersonation and involve no software flaw, so there is nothing to patch and no exploit to rate [3][4]. The attacker needs a candidate's name, logo and slogan, and the report says fraudsters are borrowing them [13]. An AI tool supplies the voice, image or message [4]. The impersonated parties include candidates, campaigns, government entities and people the victim trusts [4].
On exploitability we'd rate this high. The inputs are public candidate names and AI tools, and delivery is a text, an email or a call [11]. Max Gannon, Cyber Intelligence Team Manager at Cofense, put the barrier this way: "Election season hands threat actors a ready-made lure that takes little creativity, skill, or experience to use. AI has erased the clumsy mistakes that once gave these scams away, so a cloned voice or a polished message from a 'campaign' can now look as convincing as the real thing," he said [10]. The FBI made the same point about detection: "The realism makes these schemes harder for victims to detect and increases the likelihood of financial loss or exposure of PII" [5].
The defense Gannon offers costs one lookup. "The best defense is a habit that every employee can adopt: when a message pressures you to act or provokes a strong reaction, pause and verify it through a source you find yourself, such as the Federal Election Commission (FEC) website or vote.gov, never through the link you were sent or using any information in the original text, email, or call," he said [11].
The pattern predates this cycle. The FBI says these schemes "have previously exploited state and local elections" [1]. Its wording for 2026 is conditional: scammers "could exploit" the midterms [1]. Help Net Security's account of the alert does not include loss figures, victim counts or the names of any impersonated campaign, so the size of the 2026 activity is not public.
Separately, X said it recently suspended more than 13,000 accounts across three suspected foreign influence operations aimed at US political debate, with links to Iran, Russia and China [12]. Help Net Security reports it alongside the FBI alert, without tying those networks to the donation or registration schemes.
What to watch
- Published loss or complaint counts tied to 2026 campaign impersonation, which the alert as reported does not include.
- Notices from campaigns or state election offices naming specific impersonations of their candidates or registration pages.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence50
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence55
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The FBI said scammers could exploit the 2026 US midterm election to perpetrate financial fraud schemes, and that these schemes target victims throughout the country and "have previously exploited state and local elections."
- [2]
The alert updates a similar warning the FBI issued ahead of the 2024 general election.
- [3]
Scammers use candidates' identities to "fraudulently solicit campaign contributions, sell merchandise that is never delivered, or steal personally identifiable information (PII) that can be used for other fraud," the FBI said.
- [4]
The FBI noted that fraudsters turn to AI tools to produce convincing voices, images and written messages that impersonate candidates, campaigns, government entities and people the victim trusts.
- [5]
The FBI said: "The realism makes these schemes harder for victims to detect and increases the likelihood of financial loss or exposure of PII."
- [6]
In one scheme, scammers promise victims a guaranteed return on campaign contribution dollars by investing in a candidate campaign pool that supposedly pays out after the candidate wins, and victims are encouraged to recruit others to increase their share of the payout.
- [7]
In another scheme, a text or email claims the recipient is not registered to vote and links to a fake state voter registration page.
- [8]
The FBI called the fake registration page "a means to steal PII for identity theft and potentially to further target victims for additional fraud schemes."
- [9]
The FBI reminded the public that campaign donations "are not an investment and will not increase in value nor be returned."
- [10]
Max Gannon, Cyber Intelligence Team Manager at Cofense, said: "Election season hands threat actors a ready-made lure that takes little creativity, skill, or experience to use. AI has erased the clumsy mistakes that once gave these scams away, so a cloned voice or a polished message from a 'campaign' can now look as convincing as the real thing."
- [11]
Gannon added: "The best defense is a habit that every employee can adopt: when a message pressures you to act or provokes a strong reaction, pause and verify it through a source you find yourself, such as the Federal Election Commission (FEC) website or vote.gov, never through the link you were sent or using any information in the original text, email, or call."
- [12]
X said it recently identified and suspended more than 13,000 accounts involved in three suspected foreign influence operations linked to Iran, Russia, and China that targeted US political conversation.
- [13]
Three weeks before Americans vote in the 2026 midterm election, fraudsters are borrowing candidate names, logos and slogans to collect fake donations and harvest personal data, the FBI warned.
Get this ledger inside ChatGPT. Ask about any of our stories and the answer brings its figure, each claim’s verdict and the sources. Free, no account.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
Topics and entities
Follow any of these and your For You feed starts watching them — no settings page required.