FTC and American consumers win two cases against pandemic scammers

The FTC’s hard work pays off for American consumers. A few months into the pandemic, the FTC filed complaints against two online sellers — Glowyy and American Screening — which falsely promised fast delivery of in-demand face masks, sanitizers, gloves, and other personal protective equipment.

By law, sellers are supposed to ship your order within the time stated in their ads, or within 30 days if the ads don’t give a time. If a seller can’t ship within the promised time, it must give you a revised shipping date, with the chance to either cancel your order for a full refund or accept the new shipping date. According to the FTC’s lawsuits, the defendants failed to deliver on time (if at all), notify customers of delayed shipments, offer order cancellations and refunds, or honor refund requests.

Today, we’re happy to report that the FTC won both cases. What does this mean for consumers? The companies have to stop their illegal practices and return the money they made from harming people. The FTC will use the money collected to refund consumers.

Before you order from an unfamiliar online store:

• Check out the company or product by typing its name in a search engine with terms like “review,” “complaint,” or “scam.” See what other people say about it.
• Confirm the terms of the sale. Calculate the total purchase price, including taxes, shipping, and handling. If you have to return the item, can you get a refund? Who pays for return shipping? Is there a restocking fee?
• Pay by credit card. That gives you protections under federal law. If a business charged your account too soon, and didn’t deliver the merchandise on time, you can file a dispute and report it to your credit card company.

If you suspect a scam, let us know about it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.