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Posted on 09/10/2012 2:47:10 PM PDT by newzjunkey
Noam Neusner, a former White House speechwriter for President George W. Bush, thought he had given $250 to Ohio GOP Senate candidate Josh Mandel.
He hadn't.
Instead, Neusner was one of nearly 3,000 donors who stumbled onto a network of look-alike campaign websites that have netted more than $570,000 this year in what some are calling a sophisticated political phishing scheme.
The websites have the trappings of official campaign pages: smiling candidate photos and videos, issue pages, and a large red "donate" button at the top. Except that proceeds from the shadow sites go not to the candidates pictured, but to an obscure conservative group run by an Arizona activist.
Such doppelgänger sites exist for nearly three-dozen prominent GOP figures, including presidential nominee Mitt Romney, House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and donation magnets such as Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Allen West of Florida. ...
CAPE PAC's network of microsites does not appear to break election law; the group discloses itself as the operator on every page. But "just because it's legal doesn't make it right," said Pasi.
The group first made waves in March, when it bought search ads for GOP Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts. Brown and his Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Warren, had pledged to swear off outside advertising. Warren said the CAPE PAC ads violated their agreement and Brown paid a fine for not honoring the pledge.
CAPE PAC has been on the radar of Boehner's political operation, as well. "Our campaign continues to monitor this situation, and we're concerned that some donors are finding CAPE PAC's site very confusing," said Boehner spokesman Cory Fritz. He urged donors to call a campaign before making online contributions. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
AMEN..
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