FTC says $12 million were lost due to Coronavirus-related scams

Consumer reports received since January 2020 revealed that that approximately $12 million were lost due to Coronavirus-related scams, FTC says.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission revealed that Coronavirus-related scams reported by consumers since January 2020 caused approximately $12 million losses.

FTC received 16,778 reports of frauds, roughly 46.3% of fraud complaints also reporting a loss between January 1, 2020 – April 12, 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,” states the FTC.

Most of the COVID19-related complaints were from California (2,010), followed by Florida (1,185), New York (1,073), and Texas (1,064).

Top fraud products/services exploited by scammers were travel and vacations (2,814), followed by online shopping (1,741) and text message-based scams (1,017).

In February, FTC published an advisory warning of COVID19-related scams.

“Scammers are taking advantage of fears surrounding the Coronavirus. 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.” reads the FTC advisory.

“The emails and posts may be promoting awareness and prevention tips, and fake information about cases in your neighborhood. They also may be asking you to donate to victims, offering advice on unproven treatments, or contain malicious email attachments.”

Unfortunately, crooks continue to attempt to take advantage of the current COVID-19 outbreak, if you are interested in a list of recent Coronavirus-themed attacks give a look here:

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – COVID-19, cybercrime)

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