FTC Coronavirus Update

November 5, 2020 Visit FTC.gov/Coronavirus for more information. In this bulletin: Court Issues Order Halting Operators of Fake Websites Claiming to Sell Clorox and Lysol Products FTC goes to court to clean house against operators of sites falsely claiming to sell high-demand, name-brand supplies Fake Clorox and Lysol websites try to take people to the cleaners Updated Coronavirus (COVID-19) consumer complaint data Court Issues Order Halting Operators of Fake Websites Claiming to Sell Clorox and Lysol Products At the Federal Trade Commission's request, a federal court in Ohio has issued a temporary restraining order against 25 counterfeit websites that allegedly have been playing on consumers' COVID-19 pandemic fears to trick them into paying for Clorox and Lysol products that the defendants never deliver. FTC goes to court to clean house against operators of sites falsely claiming to sell high-demand, name-brand supplies For years, the FTC has warned about imposters – scammers who masquerade as government officials, financial institutions, family members, etc., in an attempt to flimflam consumers and businesses. The FTC just filed a lawsuit alleging a variation on the imposter scheme. According to the complaint, the defendants set up dozens of look-alike websites to fool people into thinking they were ordering name-brand merchandise from established national companies. Fake Clorox and Lysol websites try to take people to the cleaners Scammers follow the headlines. They take advantage of what's happening in the news to find new ways to get people to part with their money. During the COVID pandemic, cleaning supplies have been in high demand, but often in short supply. Scammers see that as opportunity knocking. Updated Coronavirus (COVID-19) consumer complaint data Today, the FTC published its latest edition of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Consumer Complaint Data on its FTC COVID-19 and Stimulus Reports dashboard. Select a state from the map on the dashboard to view data by state. As of November 4, 2020: 242,857 Overall Reports $117.32M Total Fraud Loss $318 Median Fraud Loss The Federal Trade Commission continues its work protecting consumers, providing guidance to businesses, and protecting competition in the marketplace throughout the pandemic. Read more at ftc.gov/coronavirus. SUBSCRIBER SERVICES:  Manage Preferences  |  Unsubscribe  |  Help This is a free service provided by the Federal Trade Commission.

 

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