The Conservative Party is running a Google Ad campaign targeting voters seeking to register to postal vote. It’s a dodgy means of data capture.

Polling Day on 12 December will be a cold day with limited day light hours. Postal voting is likely to be popular.

The Conservative Party postal vote Google ad appeared at the top of the page in search results today above the official Electoral Commission and Government websites for voter registration.

If you clicked on the ad you landed on a Conservative Party campaign micro site that asked for your name, address, email and phone number. The site generated a postal vote application for you to print and send to your electoral registration office.

It’s a deception means of data collection that aims to capture data from people that intend to vote by post.

Here’s how you should register to vote without sharing your data with the Conservative Party.

How to register to vote

Follow this link to register to vote at your local polling station in the upcoming election. It will take you around five minutes and you’ll need to do it before midnight on 26 November.

How to register to postal vote

Download and complete this form if you want to register for a postal vote. You’ll need to return the form to your electoral registration office. You can find details on the Electoral Commission website.

The deadline in Northern Ireland is 21 November. In England, Scotland and Wales its 26 November.