CLINTON, Wash. — As Marie Shimada campaigns in her community, she has been forced to do a bit of damage control after someone hijacked her message.
"I think the Island County community is a really beautiful place," Shimada said. "There are a lot of people with a lot of good intent. So, it surprised me that there would be a bad actor who would be sending something fraudulent or malicious."
Shimada is running for a seat on the Island County Commission.
Last month someone sent four different emails in the candidate's name twisting what she had posted about Women's History Month into something that was offensive, making it seem like she does not like white people or senior citizens.
"It's exactly what I'm against," Shimada said. "It gives me an opportunity to remind everyone that I'm about inclusivity. I'm about community and advancing everyone's priorities."
Jevin West, co-founder of the Center for An Informed Public at the University of Washington, believes technology has become so cheap and easy to use that just about anybody can impersonate anyone.
"I think we can expect to see much more of this," West said. "We're no longer just talking about this sort of thing. It's happening right now."
Earlier this year artificial intelligence was used to create a phony robocall from someone posing as President Joe Biden.
West advised people to be skeptical of anything they receive via text, email, audio, or video and to always trust their instincts.
You can verify sources through sites like FactCheck.org, Snopes, or TrueMedia.
"The most important thing people can do now is just be aware of this new technology for text, video, audio, images and let everyone they know know about it," West said.
Shimada does not believe any of her three opponents are behind the scam.
She feels fortunate to have caught the imposter early before more damage was done.
"I'm not a victim," Shimada said. "I'm an advocate. This could happen to anyone. It happened to me, but it gives me the opportunity to remind everyone to be safe about the type of content they receive."
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the incident to determine if any federal laws have been violated.