US consumers report $12M in COVID-19 scam losses since January
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission says that approximately $12 million were lost to Coronavirus-related scams according to consumer reports received since January 2020.
“FTC has received more than 16K Coronavirus-related reports from consumers. Consumers reported losing a total of $12.78M to fraud w/ a reported median loss of $570,” said the agency today.
According to the FTC, consumers reported 16,778 fraud incidents so far, with roughly 46.3% of fraud complaints also reporting a loss between January 1, 2020 – April 12, 202
Most reports were received from California with 2,010 consumers saying that they were targeted by fraudsters, followed by Florida, New York, and Texas with over 1,000 complaints each.
Scammers targeting consumers looking for travel and vacations deal were behind over 2,800 fraud attempts reported to the FTC, while online shopping and text message-based scams were trailing behind with 1,741 and 1,017 reports, respectively.
The FTC notified consumers in February about scammers that took advantage of the current Coronavirus pandemic to lure potential U.S. targets via phishing emails, text messages, and social media.
“Scammers are taking advantage of fears surrounding the Coronavirus,” the FTC said at the time. “They’re setting up websites to sell bogus products, and using fake emails, texts, and social media posts as a ruse to take your money and get your personal information.”
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