Millions Lost By Consumers To Coronavirus-Related Fraud

FTC Reports: From January 1, 2010 Through April 15, 2020, 18,235 COVID-19 Related Complaints Received; Consumers Reported Losing $13.44 Million To Coronavirus-Related Fraud

Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is making consumers aware that the FTC has reported the following:

• From January 1 until today, the FTC has gotten 18,235 reports related to COVID-19, and people reported losing $13.44 million dollars to fraud.
• The top complaint categories relate to travel and vacations, online shopping, bogus text messages, and all kinds of imposters.
• While reports of robocalls are way down overall, we’re now hearing about callers invoking the COVID-19 pandemic to pretend to be from the government, or making illegal medical or health care pitches, among other topics.
• The big states have, not unexpectedly, the biggest number of reports. Click here to see state reporting in this regard.

The FTC cautions consumers that if you are getting calls, emails, or texts, or seeing ads or offers online, it is important to note the following: First, 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). And second, anyone who tells you to pay by Western Union or Money Gram, or by putting money on a gift card, is a scammer. The government and legit businesses will never tell you to pay that way.

Source: Federal Trade Commission – FTC.gov

Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.