Alva Review-Courier -

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The email from a political action committee seemed harmless: if you support Joe Biden, it urged, click here to make sure you're registered to vote.

But Harvard University graduate student Maya James did not click. Instead, she Googled the name of the soliciting PAC. It didn't exist -- a clue the email was a phishing scam from swindlers trying to exploit the U.S. presidential election as a way to steal peoples' personal information.

"There was not a trace of them," James, 22, said. "It was a very inconspicuous email, but I noticed it used very emotional language, and tha...