Natural State News

One of the Most Effective Political Fundraising Pitches Is Actually a Scam’

By Attorney General Tim Griffin

Protecting people from scams and fraud is one of my most fundamental responsibilities as attorney general of Arkansas. Americans are used to scams perpetrated by fraudsters and con artists, but they don’t expect it from their elected leaders.

The truth is politicians, political parties and PACs are deceiving unsuspecting victims who believe in our political system. And they’re doing it by fundraising with emails and text messages that falsely promise to “match” a contribution. This scam is not only unethical, it’s also potentially illegal — and politicians who use it may find themselves under legal scrutiny.

Have you received an email or text message from a politician promising that your contribution will be matched 2x, 10x or have a 1,500 percent impact? If you’ve contributed to a candidate recently, you’re likely on donor lists that result in a constant bombardment of email and text message solicitations featuring some variation of these claims. The match scam is so ubiquitous and tiresome that at least one presidential candidate is hoping to win support by promising “no fake matches.”

With millions of match solicitations hitting inboxes daily, have you ever wondered who’s matching your contribution? In virtually every case, nobody is. It’s a scam.

To read the rest of Griffin’s op-ed on Politico’s website, click here.

Original source can be found here.