Pennsylvania leaders warn of text message scam targeting Philadelphia-area voters

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Authorities in Pennsylvania and Montgomery County are warning people about a phishing campaign targeting registered voters using a text message that attempts to capture valuable information.

“People are eager to vote,” said Neil Makhija, Montgomery County Commissioner and Election Board Chairman. “We actually have the highest turnout in the entire Commonwealth in Montgomery County.”

This enthusiasm is being exploited by scammers using text messages.

“People are making sure they are registered. They are making sure they request their mail-in and proxy ballots,” Makhija said. “Right now, while people are looking for that information, we also have fraudsters trying to take advantage of the situation.”

Makhija said the county had received six calls from concerned constituents.

“What the text was trying to do was trick them into clicking on a link to provide their information to an unverified source,” Makhija said.

Makhija says Montgomery County is the third largest county in the commonwealth with about 600,000 eligible voters.

“I wouldn’t click on anything,” said Maryann D’Aloia, a registered voter. “I know I’m registered, but if I knew something was wrong, I would definitely go to the government website, the Montgomery County website,” D’Aloia said.

In a statement on Facebook, the state attorney general’s office said in part: “Anyone receiving these text messages or other suspicious election communications should notify their local board of elections and file a complaint with the Department of State.”

As the election approaches, reports are emerging of a text message scam in several Pennsylvania counties. The text messages claim to be…

Published by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday, August 27, 2024

“They (phishing scammers) are reducing trust in our democratic system, and this is a serious affront to all of us who believe in this process where we want to have a say in the direction of the country,” Makhija said.