Pa. leaders warn about text message scam targeting voters

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Pennsylvania and Montgomery County officials are warning people about a phishing campaign targeting registered voters using a text message that attempts to capture valuable information.

"People are excited to vote," said Neil Makhija, Montgomery County commissioner and chair of the Board of Elections. "We actually have the highest turnout in the entire commonwealth in Montgomery County."

That excitement is being taken advantage of by scammers using text messages.

"People are making sure they are registered. They are making sure they are requesting their absentee and mail-in-ballots," Makhija said. "At this time when people are looking for that information, we also have people who are committing fraud trying to take advantage of the moment."

Makhija said the county has received six calls from concerned voters.

"What the text was trying to do was to get them to click a link to provide their information to an unverified source," Makhija said.

Makhija says Montgomery County is the third largest county in the Commonwealth with an estimated 600,000 eligible voters.

"I wouldn't click on anything," said Maryann D'Aloia, a registered voter. "I know I'm registered, but if I knew that something was not right, I would definitely go to the government's website, Montgomery County's website," said D'Aloia.

In a statement on Facebook, the state attorney general's office said in part, "Anyone receiving these texts or other suspicious elections communications should notify the local elections board and file a complaint with the Department of State."

"They (phishing scammers) are reducing the confidence in our democratic system, and that's a serious affront to all of us who believe in this process where we want to have a say in the direction of the country," Makhija said.