FTC Fielded 270,000 COVID-19-Related Complaints

The FTC has received more than 270,000 COVID-19-related complaints this year with a total fraud loss of more than $200 million, said Consumer and Business Education Division Senior Project Manager Colleen Tressler during a joint webinar Wednesday with the FCC. Top such complaints involve online shopping for in-demand products and text message and phone scams, said Tressler. FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Chief Patrick Webre cited promising vaccine reports as he expressed optimism “that life may be able to return to a sense of normalcy in the not-too-distant future.” Scams continue, he said, with perpetrators trying to steal identities and capitalize on uncertainty, at-risk groups and stimulus programs. Robocalls remain a top complaint to the FCC, said Consumer Affairs and Outreach Division Associate Chief Keyla Hernandez-Ulloa. Elijah Hebert, a U.S. Postal Inspection Service inspector, suggested consumers buy products only from “known, reliable retailers and e-commerce companies.”