Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has received over 175,000 consumer reports related to Covid-19 scams, totaling a whopping $118.81 million in losses.
So far, the top fraud reports relate to:
- Online shopping, with 26,792 reports
- Travel and vacations, with 21,674 reports
- Credit cards, with 6,063 reports
- Banks, savings, loans and credit card unions, with 4,717 reports
- Healthcare, with 4,109 reports
Online shopping was the number one fraud complaint, causing $16 million in losses, according to the latest report. However, COVID-19 complaints related to fraud, identity theft, Do Not Call, and other consumer protection problems were also noted as a troubling trend.