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As part of its ongoing efforts to protect consumers from sellers of scam COVID-19 treatments, the FTC has sent 20 more warning letters to companies that claim their products can prevent, treat or cure the COVID-19. Claims for zappers, virus-busting cards, sage, oregano, and bay leaves are among the representations called into question in the latest round of warning letters.

Like the hundreds of other warning letters the FTC has sent to other companies, these letters require the sellers to notify the FTC within 48 hours of the specific actions they have taken to address the agency’s concerns. The FTC will follow up with companies that fail to make adequate corrections. The good news: in nearly all cases so far, those who get the letters have stopped making the false claims or selling the scam product or treatment.

When it comes to the fight against the Coronavirus, knowing the facts will help. Here are tips to follow and share with others:

  • Always talk with your doctor or another healthcare professional before you try any product claiming to treat, cure, or prevent COVID-19.
  • Head to CDC.gov for clear and concise information on COVID-19. In addition, visit the FDA’s Resources page to find out about treatments in development.
  • If you find a product that claims to prevent, treat, or cure COVID-19, report it to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.

The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
  • We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

MBS8866
August 14, 2020
why did I receive this notice in my email & I'm not understanding the purpose of the letter could explain this for me please. & Thank you & B safe & wear a mask
FTC Staff
August 17, 2020

In reply to by MBS8866

The FTC sends email to people who signed up to get consumer information and messages about scams. 

haynwahine4175
August 14, 2020
wow anything for scammers to make money during this time of downfall. I hope your office catches them all. Funds from them should be used to help those who is hospitalized due to this coronavirus.
joan
August 14, 2020
thank you for all your hard work and the information provided!!
Trish
August 31, 2020
Can a company use hospital grade cleaner used to kill Covid and say they can help prevent covid or treat it?
Ditdit
November 28, 2020
Of course, we must be careful!