Campaign hats, yard signs, flags and T-shirts sell in an election season, and the FBI says criminals have noticed. Some online sellers of political merchandise take the payment and never send the order.
The warning is one of four in an Oct. 15, 2026 public service announcement from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), titled “Scammers Exploit 2026 U.S. Midterm Election to Perpetrate Multiple Fraud Schemes.” This article covers the shopping scheme only.
What a non-shipment scam looks like
The IC3 alert calls it a “non-shipment scam” or “non-delivery fraud.” A shopper pays for political merchandise on a website or a social media listing, and the item never arrives. The seller keeps the money.
The alert gives no count of victims and no rate of how many orders go missing, and it states no dollar losses. What it describes is a scheme in which political merchandise is the bait.
How to vet a seller before paying
The FBI’s step is specific: research sellers on BBB.org before buying, checking reviews and complaints. A seller with no listing, a stack of complaints about orders that never came, or a profile that appeared this month deserves a pass.
Buying through a candidate’s own campaign website, reached by typing the address rather than tapping an ad, removes some of the guesswork. The alert’s general advice also applies here: verify organizations and contact information independently.
What changed this year: Social Security and Medicare change every year, and nobody sends you a memo. The Retirement Money Brief breaks down what changed and what to do. Bonus when you subscribe: our Scam & Identity-Theft Action Card.
Get the Brief and the scam action card →
We may earn a commission from links on this page.
Why political gear is a handy lure
Fake stores borrow what real campaigns use. The FBI says scammers copy candidates’ names, images, logos and slogans, and use AI tools to build convincing messages and pages. A storefront with a familiar face and slogan can look as official as the campaign’s own shop.
That polish costs the scammer little. A shopper who sees a name they trust is less likely to look for a business address, a phone number or a history of complaints.
If an order has already gone missing
Anyone who paid and received nothing can report it to the local FBI field office or to IC3 at ic3.gov. The alert asks reporters to include the seller’s name, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses and websites, the payment method and transaction details, and a description of how the contact began and what was promised.
The payment details are the part a report needs most. A screenshot of the listing and the confirmation email, saved before the site disappears, gives investigators something to work with.
A card number or a bank login typed into a fake store is a second exposure beyond the lost purchase price, because the same details can be used again.
Where merchandise fits among the four schemes
The IC3 alert groups the shopping scam with three others: campaign investment pools, fake political action committees and fake voter-registration pages. Each starts with a message or an offer that looks tied to a campaign and ends with a victim paying or handing over information.
The alert’s general advice covers all four. Be cautious with unsolicited calls, texts, emails and surveys, and confirm who is really behind a request before paying. For a shopper, that means a store reached through a text or an ad is worth less than one found by searching for the campaign’s own site.
Anyone who has already paid for merchandise and is waiting on a delivery that was promised weeks ago has the same reporting route as any other victim: the FBI field office or IC3, with the order details in hand.
The FBI has not published a count of fake merchandise stores. Its guidance rests on the seller check and on keeping payment records for a report.
Paid for campaign merchandise that never showed up?
A shopper who handed card details to a store that never shipped has lost the purchase and may have given away what is needed to open accounts or charge the card again. The IC3 alert asks for payment details in every report, so those records matter.
The Senior Fraud Defense & First-Hour Recovery Kit includes the free credit-freeze steps and a fraud evidence and report log with room for the order date, the amount, the payment method and every reference number. The log is built so a report to IC3 is complete the first time.
Get the evidence-log kit for an order that never shipped →
More Financial Reading
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 21 Ways Retirees Can Raise $1,000 Fast Without a Job
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
