LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The 2024 election is over but some Nevadans are still getting political spam texts.
The messages ask the receiver to click a link to donate money, sign a petition or participate in a survey.
FOX5 Investigates reporter Andryanna Sheppard has gotten one to two of these every day since November 5. One of the texts provides a link and reads:
Sheppard sat down with UNLV Political Science professor Dr. Kenneth Miller to learn why these messages are still coming more than a month after the election.
“The thing about political fundraising now is it is completely the wild west,” Dr. Miller said. “There is virtually no regulation or oversight for any of this stuff.”
The message could be coming from legitimate organizations, campaigns or candidate committees.
“Those groups oftentimes have debt left over at the end of the campaign. So sometimes they are going to engage in some fundraising even after election day is over,” Dr. Miller added.
The messages could also come from scammers or political action committees (PACs).
“Some of these PACs are a little more scammy than others and so that it could be you’re getting texts from someone who is just phishing for money,” Dr. Miller continued.
Dr. Miller advises that receivers of these texts do not click on the links. Replying ‘Stop’ to stop more from coming could actually do the opposite. Dr. Miller said doing so verifies to the sender that the contact information. It could later be sold to other organizations to send even more texts. Instead, select the “delete and report junk” option.
If the cause seems worthy of donations, Dr. Miller advises finding an organization or campaign and donating to them directly.
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