If you’re wondering how many COVID-19 frauds have infected the nation, the Federal Trade Commission provided the data to Congress on Feb. 1.
Noting “disturbing trends and a surge in consumer complaints stemming from a broad range of deceptive schemes,” the FTC testified that from January 2020 to Jan. 28, 2022, it received more than 292,000 COVID-19 fraud reports reflecting $674 million in fraud losses. From new data from the Social Security Administration, fraud losses have increased 85% between October 2020 and September 2021.
A significant spike in digital scams and abuse has resulted in record reports of financial losses, the agency said, with “a soaring number of reports about business imposters, undelivered merchandise, and substantial losses stemming from online shopping. Cryptocurrency and other investment and income scams and reports of fraud have also risen sharply during the pandemic.”
Social media is the route for digital deception, the FTC said, citing a 19-fold increase in reports between 2017 and 2021 about losing money to a scam that started with a social media contact.
The significant rise in impersonation fraud is especially alarming, the FTC said, referring to scammers stealing data and money by falsely claiming they’re calling from the IRS, the Social Security Administration, and other offices and…
