NORTH DAKOTA ( KXNET ) — Major events, like presidential elections, are a time when scammers love to get people to give them money and/or their personal information.

With the election happening in just over two weeks, Sydney Waters with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) says now is the best time to watch out for phishing emails and texts.

“When we talk about scams, we always talk about how scammers are looking for an event that really plays on your emotions, to make you act quickly and not think,” Waters explained. “Election season is the perfect time to do this.”

Scammers may send out fake surveys or polls to have victims donate to a campaign.

If someone asks for sensitive information who claims to be a pollster, that’s a sign they’re not who they say they are.

Sometimes, scammers offer a reward for completing the survey — if it’s online, there may be an external link that redirects them to a page where the scammer can steal information. Scammers could also simply ask for payment information over the phone to ship the reward, which never ends up coming.

Fake campaigns are another way scammers can get your personal and payment information, which are harder to spot since the links are often shortened or attached as hyperlinks in messages from official groups.

Always check hyperlinks for donation pages by hovering over them with a mouse to show the full link, then manually search for the campaign to check if the links are the same.

“If it’s the same, that’s probably a legitimate campaign asking you for a donation. If it’s different and has a bunch of crazy letters and numbers, it’s probably a scammer,” Waters warned.

If people are still unsure, they can call the campaign directly.

Scammers are capable of getting people to cast their ballot via text, and Waters said that’s never how a vote is counted. Also, unsolicited messages that offer to help register or cast a vote are likely invalid.

You can check your voter registration status or see if your vote went through by visiting this website .

If you believe you’ve been scammed, report it to campaign officials so they can inform others that someone is trying to take advantage.

“Researching in advance and staying on top of your cybersecurity tips during election season is the best thing you can do,” concluded Waters. “Knowing what they’re going to ask for, what’s appropriate information for you to give out.”

You can learn more about scams and report them here .

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