FTC Working With State AGs to Address Contact Tracing Scams

The FTC is collaborating with at least six state attorneys general on contact tracing scams, Chairman Joe Simons recently wrote Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. We obtained the correspondence through a Freedom of Information Act request. The FTC is working with state AGs in Alaska, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and Oregon, plus the National Association of Attorneys General, Simons wrote the senators Aug. 4. An FTC spokesperson declined comment on whether the group plans law enforcement action.

NAAG and nearly 40 state AGs sent a policy letter to Google and Apple about COVID-19 contact tracing scams in June, said an association spokesperson. The group raised concerns about free contact tracing apps on Google Play and Apple’s App Store, apps separate from the companies’ contract tracing efforts not affiliated with any public health authorities. They recommended Google and Apple remove such apps not affiliated with government and public health officials, citing data privacy risks. Google and Apple didn’t comment.

Moran and Klobuchar asked the FTC to act against contact tracing scams targeting seniors attempting to “financially exploit consumers and steal their personal identifying information.” The agency should provide material to better educate the public, they said in a July 14 letter. The NAAG spokesperson directed questions to North Carolina AG Josh Stein (D), co-chair of NAAG’s Consumer Protection Committee. Stein’s office didn’t comment. Neither did offices for Moran, Klobuchar, or the Alaska, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Oregon AGs.

The FTC published more than 100 business and consumer alerts on COVID-19, which have gotten some 4 million page views, said Simons. Since January, the FTC has collected about 140,000 consumer reports involving COVID-19, a handful about contact tracing. More than 2,000 law enforcement partners accessed the reports.

The FTC is working to identify and stop scammers, Simons wrote Moran and Klobuchar, citing educational efforts for the public, warning letters and law enforcement. He cited the agency’s publishing of consumer alerts and infographics with consumer tips for avoiding the scams, which included two consumer alerts for contact tracing and six specific to older adults. The FTC offered to co-brand infographics with NAAG and each state, he said.

FTC staff worked with the State Attorneys’ General Robocall Working Group to create a list of tips to “help states structure contact tracing programs in a way that makes it difficult for scammers to profit by confusing consumers about these programs,” Simons wrote: NAAG circulated tips to members. The FTC has enough resources to respond to global health outbreaks using warning letters, consumer education and targeted law enforcement, he told the senators: “If the FTC were to receive additional resources, I can assure you that the agency would put them to good use in fulfilling its mission.”