Scammers could be using political emails to target you

Many of the political emails headed to you every day never even make it to your inbox. But the ones that do could be scams.

“I probably get 100 or 150 emails a day,” said Eri Goldman of Naples.

We all get those emails from political campaigns asking us to pitch in or register to vote.

“I’ve been getting some stuff encouraging me to register to vote which, I thought was interesting because I’m already registered to vote. So why are you doing this?” Mark Nofi, another Naples resident asked.

Mark Nofi says he’s also received some other, more nefarious emails regarding elections recently. So that has made him more aware online.

“You have to be cautious especially in this day and age,” Nofi said.

Goldman wants to remind everyone that some people really are trying to take advantage of you. “I think there is people out there trying to take advantage of people that are not aware of what’s going on,” Goldman said.

Anyone could be a victim of receiving a political email scam. Trying to unsubscribe from them could actually be what lets scammers in.

“The tricky part is the emails may look like an email you expect to get,” said WINK News Safety and Security Specialist Rich Kolko.

Kolko says the scammers want you to be tricked but there is something you can do.

“If you get one of these suspicious emails, the only thing to do is delete it as soon as you interact with it.” Kolko said. “Click on a link that lets them know you are a real person out there, and take advantage of you and perhaps download malware onto your computer.”

Safety and Security Specialist Rich Kolko also says another way to keep those political emails out of your inbox is to filter out anyone who isn’t in your contacts.