Consumer Alert
COVID-19 report data “on the daily”
Every day, the FTC is collecting data, watching the numbers, and spotting the trends. We’re also spreading the word about COVID-19-related scams. Because, the more you know about what’s happening, the easier it will be to protect yourself and others from these scams.
So far, we have gotten more than 175,000 COVID-19-related reports about fraud, identity theft, Do Not Call, and other consumer protection problems. You can find out about trends in your own community by clicking on your state, but recent national data shows that online shopping is the #1 fraud complaint and has caused $16 million in reported losses. These are scams that trick people into ordering products like masks, hand sanitizer, and other high-demand items that never arrive. People are also reporting scam text messages related to bogus offers to earn income, phony economic relief programs, fake charities, and government imposters.
As part of broader trend, the overall number of Do Not Call complaints are starting to pick up again after months of declining. As the scammers take to the phones again, you can expect to see an uptick in popular phone scams, like government imposter scams that exploit the pandemic or economic stimulus programs.
To help you stay ahead of these scams, keep these tips in mind and pass them along to family, friends, and your community:
- Before you order from an unfamiliar online store, check out the company or product online first. Then pay by credit card, so you can dispute the billing error, report it to your credit card company, and get your money back if something goes wrong.
- Don’t pay money or give out your personal information in response to calls, emails, or texts that say they’re from the government. The government will never call out of the blue to ask for money or your personal information (like Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers).
Keep up with the latest scams, and what the FTC is doing, by signing up to get Consumer Alerts. And please keep reporting what you’re seeing at ftc.gov/complaint.
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August 26, 2020
Thank you for all your alerts and comments they are very useful and they save a lot of us a lot of headaches
August 26, 2020
I'm so glad that I read about this "Do Not Call" complaint. I'm not going to fall for any thing that I didn't call for. Or anything else, that
I read above. Like I've mentioned before, I don't trust anybody. I've
heard on the TV too many times, where there's been people being
scramed. By sending in money in the wrong places.
August 26, 2020
Why can't something be done with all these Robo calls? I get like 10 - 12 a day home phone & cell
August 26, 2020
thank you, FTC!!! for ALL you do.
August 28, 2020
I just wish these horrid scammers would get a legitimate job instead of ruining people’s lives
August 30, 2020
I just posted a comment about scammers. It was a warning and people should learn from it. Unfortunately, I couldn't post it, because they want me to log in (log in page not provided) and they put a "captha" on it. This supposed to be an agency working together with the federal government, but when they block honest and important information, they're doing the opposit: aiding scammers. That's a shame. Now I know, that this coment won't be posted, either, but at least I let this agency know, that people don't think, that this kind of the tratment is "accedental". The "reCAPTCHA" isn't workink. Why am I not suprised?