Beware of Voter Registration Fraud and Identity Theft

With the presidential election approaching, many will be registering to vote. Identity thieves take advantage of this time to gain personal information from new voters who may not be knowledgeable of the registration process. If you are registering to vote, be aware of these methods thieves may use to make you an identity theft victim.

Email
The phishing scam has proved to be an effective identity theft tool in other situations, so why would identity thieves pass up a chance to scam a new voter? These emails may ask you to click on a link to register to vote or to resolve an issue with your voter registration.

In Person
Registration drives will have volunteers go door to door or set up tables in public areas to recruit new voters. Obviously this offers opportunities for any identity thief to set up a table with forms to collect some useful private information. Make sure the volunteer can provide proof as to which organization he or she is with. Also, look over the form carefully. Some states may require your Social Security number on the form, but none will ask for a credit card number. Avoid being an identity theft victim by refusing to complete suspicious looking forms.

By Telephone
Pretexting does not need to be done via email as a phishing scam. As we all know, many scammers will contact potential identity theft victims by phone. Be suspicious of anyone calling to claim there is a problem with your voter registration and asking you to confirm some identifying informtation. Voter registration problems are not resolved in this manner.

It's sad that we can't trust people these days. While most people we encounter are who they say they are, we need to excercise a little extra caution to protect ourselves from identity theft. Be extra cautious when you register to vote that you are not giving private information to someone who will use it fraudulently. Check out the Federal Trade Commission and other resources for further information on protecting yourself from identity theft.