Security agencies: Voters must be vigilant toward fraudulent election resources

Early voting in Southwest Florida starts Oct. 19 for every county except Glades County. As voters get ready to step foot in a polling location next week, the FBI is sending out a warning.

Scammers, cybercriminals and foreign actors could be targeting voters. We looked at what you need to know before you go online for voting resources.

The FBI, the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agencies are warning about spoofed URLs and email domains that could pose a risk to voters.

Officials say scammers are using fraudulent websites and email addresses posing as legitimate election resources that could easily dupe victims into giving away their personal information or infect their computer with malware.

To avoid becoming a victim, the FBI says to carefully check the spelling of web addresses, websites and email addresses. Often times, scammers use a “.com “instead of “.gov” and misspell words.

Seek out information from trustworthy sources. Make sure your computer and anti-virus software are updated. Remove unneeded software apps. Use a strong two-factor authentication. Don’t open emails or attachments from someone you don’t know, and never give out any personal information via email.

Many emails sent by different types of scammer will look legitimate.

The FBI is also encouraging the public to report any suspicious or criminal activity to their local FBI field office or to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).