How to spot a 'scam PAC'

The flood of cash into Vice President Harris’s campaign has ripened conditions for “scam PACs,” political committees that say they are raising money for candidates or causes but in reality pour most of the cash back into fundraising or the pockets of the individuals running the operation.

A Harris campaign spokesperson told The Hill that the campaign has seen “a surge in activity from so-called Scam PACs” and are “urging our supporters to be careful when they donate.”

“Voters have been inundated with text messages and other solicitations from political action committees claiming to support the Vice President or working to defeat Donald Trump. In reality, these are financial scams from bad actors trying to take advantage of the urgency Democrats are feeling in this moment,” the Harris campaign spokesperson said.

Because the committee is not legally obligated to return contributions, it’s important to keep an eye out for red flags on the front end, Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at Campaign Legal Center (CLC), told The Hill.

To spot a potential scam PAC, Ghosh said to pay attention to the name of the committee and do some basic research before donating.

“A candidate has to use their name in the name of their campaign committee, and conversely, a group that is not authorized by the candidate cannot use their name in the name of their committee,” Ghosh said.

Harris for President, Harris Victory Fund, and Harris Action Fund are the only three committees raising money directly for Harris, the campaign spokesperson told The Hill.

CLC also filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in April urging investigations into two alleged scam PACs that raised millions of dollars through robocalls that used clips of former President Trump’s voice but never went to support Trump or Republicans.

Ghosh also encouraged potential donors to “just Google around and see if you can find information” on the committee or if the group "is generally identified in the press as a scam."

It’s also a red flag if a large portion of a PAC’s expenses went toward “fundraising,” “consulting” or “compliance and other administrative costs,” as that suggests little or no money is actually going toward political activity supporting the candidate, cause or issue, according to the nonpartisan nonprofit OpenSecrets, which tracks the flow of money in American politics. 

As enthusiasm for the Harris campaign rages, innocuous-sounding groups have also been blasting text messages and emails to try to capitalize on the swell of support, including some identified by The Bulwark on Monday.

The Harris campaign announced Sunday that it had raised $200 million and signed up more than 170,000 volunteers in its first week. Amid the historic surge of funds, Ghosh said that it’s “not surprising to see unscrupulous actors seeing that as an opportunity to strike.”

“A lot of people who are not sophisticated donors, do not regularly give, are giving. I think that's been illustrated by the number of first time donors giving to the Harris campaign. And so these are exactly the kind of folks who would be more likely to fall victim to a scam PAC,” Ghosh said.

Taylor Giorno was a reporter for OpenSecrets before joining The Hill.