If you get an e-mail or text from a group purporting to support Democratic candidates - ignore it.
Back in October, I wrote about a shady PAC that was sending me lots of messages asking for money. The further I dove into it, the worse it got. They are a PAC, just not a legit one. They even are listed on the "Act Blue" website, and I immediately cancelled my account there.
It ain't just Donald Trump grifting off of politics these days - it is a money-making franchise. And Democrat or Republican, you will get SPAMmed with these messages, asking you for donations that go into someone's pocket - just not the someone you are trying to help elect.
If you want to donate to a candidate, find their legitimate website and donate there.
But, I suspect there is an ancillary goal of these fraudsters - to get people to be skeptical of political groups and PACs and to stop donating. If you are really into conspiracy theories, maybe the Russians are behind this - using the money to self-fund their own disinformation campaigns. If so, what a brilliant move! Get Americans to foot the bill for their own brainwashing.
Lately, I have gotten a slew of messages from various candidates, each one loaded with lines of question marks, which I assume is some sort of HTML error as my phone is so old as to not display most emojis. This message came in today, purportedly from Governor Walz:
Hey Robert, it's Gov. Tim Walz.
A little over a month ago, Donald Trump took office and solidified a GOP trifecta that will do his bidding, alongside a Supreme Court packed with extremist judges.
???????? ??????????????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ????????????????????, ??????????????????????? ???????????? ????????????????????. But here???s what I want you to know:
???????? ???????????????? ???????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????? ???????????? ???????????????? ???????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????? ?????? ???????????? ????????????????????????, ?????????????????????????????? ??, ???????????? ???????????? ???????? ????????????????.
Democratic governors like myself are fighting every day to protect our shared values. But we can???t keep up our critical work without you.
Robert, if you???re ready to fight for a future where no one is left behind and nobody gets told they don???t belong, I???m right there with you.
That???s why I???m asking you right now: ???????????????? ???????????? ???????????????? ???? ???????????????????????? ???????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????? ?????????????????????????????? ?????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ????????:???????? ????.????. ????????????????????????????? Your input will be crucial in shaping our strategy for these next four years.
https://t.demgov.co/*******
Thank you,
Gov. Tim Walz for the Democratic Governors Association
Stop2End
What's with all the question marks? Is this legit? If so, why does it look so sleazy and link to a "survey" site which we are implored to complete "by midnight tonight" (every night is tonight, if you think about it). Another missive claimed that I had to donate by "tonight" to defeat Republican candidates and flip the House to the Democrats. There is a special election coming up - April 1st - but it is in two solidly Republican Florida districts.
What is t.demgov.co and why such a weird website name? According to Scam Advisor, the site has a low score as it may contain malware. The owner of the site has hidden their real name, the site has negative reviews, and is very young.
There is a legitimate Democratic Governors Association dedicated to helping Democratic Governors get elected. Note they have the ".org" suffix for an organization, not the ".co" for a corporation (originally for Colombia, before that country decided to rent it out). Frankly, the whole ".co" domain sounds sketchy af. While the DGA may be legit, it is still a better idea to just donate directly to the candidate of your choice - your dollars will go further without having to cover the overhead of a PAC.
And why is the DGA using a separate website URL for this donation/survey pitch? I have more questions than answers. Is the DGA even legit? Check out this "open secrets" site which shows a paltry amount raised and little spent and notes that organizations cannot directly contribute to campaigns. Another reason to contribute directly to a campaign. The amount spent in the 2024 election cycle was negligible in the greater scheme of things. Seems the bulk went to political parties. The 2022 cycle was at least in the millions, although perhaps this is because more governor's seats were up for grabs. Again, most money went to local political parties. Why not donate directly?
Legitimate or not, their pitch for "Surveys" and donations has all the charm of an MLM scam. It reminds me of the ACLU "surveys" I get in the mail regularly (and regularly throw in the trash). Bear in mind, I get the same junk mail from Republican organizations and even candidates. They are an insult to my intelligence. Why not make the pitch for money directly from the candidate and cut out all these middlemen?
Sadly, these kinds of pitches seem to work, which is why they use them. I scanned "Open Secrets" for everyone in my zip code and noticed that some people contributed, again and again, totalling thousands and thousands of dollars. It's like learning your grandma is sending all her money to a televangelist!
I donated hundreds and hundreds of dollars during the last election cycle, and some of it even went to candidates. In the future, however, I think I will be more selective in my donations - to candidates and not organizations.
And legit or not, never to these sleazy survey come-ons. The reason they keep using them is that we keep donating!
UPDATE: In my SPAM box is a missive from "blue wave america" which has emojis in the title and exhorts me to help flip the House with all the charm of a carnival barker. Open Secrets has little to say about this PAC. Think I'll pass, thank you!
