Uncle Scam Wants You … to cough up your cash and personal data, FBI warns ahead of midterms

The FBI is once again warning US citizens to be on the lookout for the scams that are so often rife around election season. With November’s midterms fast approaching, the FBI said scammers are known to use the names, imagery, and slogans of high-profile candidates for a range of frauds. These are often related to making donations and selling merchandise, but can also be geared toward stealing personal data for use in follow-on scams. And of course, more recently, fraudsters’ efforts can be all the more convincing given the rise in AI use and deepfake technology, which can also be used to more accurately imitate the likenesses of candidates and other officials. Campaign investment pool schemes are among the four big frauds the FBI wants the public to watch out for over the next few weeks. …