Since the beginning of 2020, Americans have lost $545 million to novel coronavirus-related fraud, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
From January 1 last year to August 30 this year, the agency received nearly 589000 consumer complaints related to the epidemic. About 61 per cent of the complaints involved fraud, with a median loss of $380 per case.
According to a recent report by the American Consumer Federation (consumer Federation of America), surveys of state and local consumer agencies show that price fraud is the most common pandemic-related problem in 2020. Consumers complain that the prices of best-selling products such as hand sanitizers, toilet paper and masks are too high.
The true range of consumer complaints and losses may be much larger than official statistics suggest, as these data are reported by consumers themselves.
Among the fraud cases reported to the Federal Trade Commission, online shopping-related fraud has the largest number, with nearly 55000 cases.
But the biggest loss was caused by holiday and travel-related fraud, with a total loss of $79 million. FTC says most frauds involve refunds and cancellations.