Australians warned of rising election scams as poll nears

Cyber experts are warning Australian voters to exercise caution as election-related scams are expected to increase ahead of the upcoming federal poll, reflecting recent trends observed in the United States.

Recent research conducted by Norton revealed that over half of Americans, 56%, had been targeted by an election-related scam before they reached the polls. In the U.S., these scams took several forms, including fake polls intended to harvest personal data (16.6%), fraudulent political donation requests (19.1%), deepfake impersonation scams (10.3%), and a significant upsurge in robo-election scam calls (37%).

Experts have highlighted concerns that similar tactics are likely to be deployed by scammers in Australia, with the aim of capitalising on heightened political engagement during the election period.

Mark Gorrie, Managing Director APAC for Norton, noted, "We've seen how scammers exploited the U.S. election, preying on voters through fake donation requests, impersonation scams, and disinformation campaigns. With the Australian election approaching, cybercriminals will likely use similar tactics here. We urge Australians to be highly cautious, especially when receiving unsolicited messages about political donations, surveys, or 'exclusive' election information."

Norton Threat Lab data indicates that 90% of all cyber threats now originate from scams and social engineering, almost triple the figure reported in 2021. Locally, one third of Australians (33%) have already reported being targeted by scams this year, with payment scams (42%), text or 'smishing' scams (39%), and phishing scams (38%) being the most common.

The evolving threat landscape has been compounded by the increasing use of artificial intelligence in scam activity. One particularly concerning trend from the U.S. election was the proliferation of AI-generated deepfakes, which were used to target over 10% of American voters. Younger demographics, specifically those aged 25 to 34, were the most affected, with a rate of 19.9% according to Norton's research.

Gorrie commented, "We've already seen misinformation campaigns in past elections, and the growing use of AI makes these scams even harder to detect. Scammers will take advantage of the heightened interest in the election to trick people into sharing personal data or handing over money. We've seen fake fundraising campaigns, bogus voter registration sites, and deepfake content spreading online. Australians should be highly sceptical of any unsolicited political messages and always fact-check before taking action."

He also advised, "If something seems too sensational, too urgent, or asks for personal or financial details, take a step back and verify it through official sources like the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC)."

To help voters protect themselves, Gorrie outlined several key recommendations: exercising caution with unsolicited messages, ensuring the authenticity of donation requests by visiting official campaign websites directly, cross-checking political news and social media content with reputable sources, and staying alert for AI-generated or deepfake content that may be designed to mislead.

With the federal election approaching, experts urge Australians to apply lessons learnt from the U.S. experience to mitigate the risk of falling victim to election-themed scams and to prioritise the protection of their personal information.