On October 29, 2020, the FTC hosted its most recent “Green
Lights & Red Flags” workshop. This virtual workshop
focused on recent fraud patterns, advertising compliance, and data
security.
Fraud Fashioned Under COVID-19.
The pandemic's effect on the consumer protection world was
front and center at this year's workshop. According to Andrew
Smith, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection,
as of October 27, the FTC has received over 236,000 COVID-19
related reports from consumers and COVID-19 related fraud has
resulted in losses of approximately $169 million.
Common COVID-19 related scams, according to workshop speakers,
include: false claims that an entity can help a business obtain
loans through the CARES Act or SBA in exchange for money, failure
to ship paid-for PPE, and unlawful cash advances to struggling
businesses. These scams thrive off the public's general but
shallow familiarity with COVID-19 related terms like the
“CARES Act,” says Rebecca
