According to the Federal Trade Commission of America, consumers have lost more than $500 million due to Covid-related fraud. The losses occurred in different sectors ranging from online shopping to travel. The pandemic-related complaints were reported to the state and local consumer protection agencies.
The Federal Trade Commission received more than 558,000 complaints from consumers. Most of the complaints are related to the pandemic since the start of 2020. About 60% of the complaints were associated with the fraud. The aggregated loss is $501 million while the typical person lost about $370.
Director of consumer protection and privacy at the Consumer Federation of America said, “Scammers always take advantage of disasters, manmade or natural.”
Grant also said, “The complaints they receive are only the tip of the iceberg,” she said. “I think it’s safe to say it’s an awful lot of people.”
As Americans spent more time indoors during the pandemic period, their online orders increased. But many fraud sites took the chance to make false orders and many people became the victims of “opportunistic websites”.