Political fraud is as old as the hills, and we aren t just talking about ballot stuffing.

Today s political scams, however, are of a more high-tech nature and they often don t much care about election results. Instead, they seek your identity and, ultimately, your money.

Con artists are using a combination of techniques -- ranging from phishing scams to so-called typo-squatting to obtain valuable personal information, including Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and credit card numbers, says Zulfikar Ramzan, technical director with Symantec, an Internet security firm. They then either sell that data to other thieves or use the information themselves, he explains.

Many of these scams aren t new they re just getting a new spin to tie them to the election season, says Lillie Coney, associate director of Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) in Washington, D.C. But while today s consumers know to be on the lookout for common bank scams and false solicitations for disaster victims, they re more likely to be fooled when these swindles are framed around the novelty of an election. That s in part because voters are seeing campaign web sites and emails for the first time, and are therefore unable to differentiate between the legitimate sites and the look-alikes says Symantec's Ramzan. Also, unsolicited phone calls seeking donations are commonplace during the political season, which again open the door to scam artists.

The 2008 presidential election is also particularly fertile for con artists. Given the message of change being offered by both candidates, voters are hungry for information and eager to register, says Linda Sherry, a spokeswoman for Consumer Action, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. As a result, there's a wave of first-time voters as well as veteran voters who are more likely to click on emails offering news on the candidates or to speak with people who claim they can help with the voter registration process.

Another contributor is that more folks today are wired" than ever before. Forty-six percent of Americans are using the Internet, email or text messaging to get political news and share thoughts about the race, according to a June survey by Pew Internet & American Life Project. That's twice as many people who did so before the last election, during the spring of 2004.

Here's what voters should watch out for.

Political Posers

Voter Registration Scams
The Federal Trade Commission is warning consumers about emails and phone calls from supposed local election boards. Con artists ask for personal information, including a Social Security number or even a credit card number to verify one's voter registration status.

The real deal: No matter what, don't give out any personal information over the phone. If a campaign phone call sounds legitimate and you d like to make a donation, go directly to the candidate's web site.

Likewise, if you receive an email from an organization with a legitimate-sounding name claiming to represent one of the candidates, check the group's legitimacy at the Federal Election Commission's (FEC) web site. All parties that raise money for a federal election must register with the FEC.

Viruses
Here, election-oriented emails direct an unsuspecting computer user to a campaign-related web site or video. Once the person clicks on the fraudulent link, a virus infects the laptop or desktop and steals personal information, such as bank account and credit card numbers, as well as passwords.

The real deal: Voters should never click on a link from an unfamiliar web site, even if the original email comes from a friend. But since mistakes could happen, installing and keeping antivirus and Internet security software such as Norton Internet Security up to date will help protect a computer from unwanted viruses and other malicious code, says Symantec's Ramzan.

Bogus web sites
Misspell a candidate's name or type in the wrong domain name (such as .org instead of .com) while surfing the web and you could be directed to a fraudulent, but legitimate-looking web site. While most "typo-squatting" in political circles is used to post advertisements or pass along false information (see www.barackobama.net, consumers should watch out for sites that solicit campaign donations. While the FTC is not aware of any widespread efforts to collect cash in this manner, in 2004 there was a fake John Kerry web site asking for contributions.

The real deal: There are no tell-tale signs that differentiate a legitimate web site from one that's fake so voters looking for the most up-to-date information should go directly to the following sites and bookmark them for future use: The Barack Obama-Joe Biden campaign and the John McCain-Sarah Palin campaign.