According to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) , $12 million has been lost to coronavirus -related scams . This figure is based on thousands of user reports of falling victim to such scams since January 2020.
“The FTC has received more than 16,000 reports scams from consumers about coronavirus-related . Consumers reported losing a total of $12.78 million,” the commission said.
US consumers have reported 16,778 incidents, with 46.3% of complaints reporting losses between January 1 and April 12, 2020.
The majority of complaints came from California, with 2,010 consumers reporting fraud . There were also many complaints from Florida, New York and Texas.
In most cases, fraudsters attempted to scam consumers looking for travel deals (2,800 attempts), as well as those making online purchases (1,741 attempts). scams Text message (1,017).
The FTC and other US agencies had been warning consumers since February about scammers exploiting the coronavirus to lure potential targets through phishing emails, text messages and social media.
“Scammers are exploiting people’s fears about the coronavirus,” the FTC said at the time. “They are creating fake websites selling products and using fake emails, messages and social media to take your money and steal personal information.”
In March, the FTC also warned nine VoIP service providers not to assist and/or facilitate illegal robocallsthat exploit public anxiety about the coronavirus.
“Many of these robocalls are exploiting consumers’ fear of the pandemic and are being used to perpetrate fraud or spread misinformation. FTC staff has reason to believe that one or more of customers may be experiencing such illegal telemarketing campaigns,” the FTC had told providers.
In April, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also issued a warning about the increase in coronavirus-related scams. The scams are carried out through emails, social media, phone calls , etc. Attackers usually ask for personal information.
"We are asking people to be very careful during this time. The IRS is not going to call you and ask you to verify or provide your financial information," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
“This also applies to strange emails that appear to come from the IRS. Remember, you should not open such emails or click on attachments and links. Go to IRS.gov for any information.”
