Security News > 2020 > August > COVID-19-related scams cost Americans more than $98 million since the start of 2020
Online shopping is the most prevalent type of scam with people losing nearly $14 million to date, according to FTC data.
Americans have reported 152,129 coronavirus-related fraud cases to the Federal Trade Commission since the start of 2020, according to data analyzed by Atlas VPN. FTC data further revealed that Americans have lost more than $98 million to COVID-19 and stimulus check scams.
Online shopping scams were the most common, with 23,482 cases reported as of Aug. 4, the FTC said.
Travel and vacation scams account for even bigger losses, totaling $33.71 million since the start of the year, with US citizens reporting 17,659 travel and vacation complaints, according to the FTC. "It turns out that hotels and flight companies are not in a hurry to issue refunds to customers, which is the main contributing factor to these reports," Atlas VPN said.
The most reports came from California, where citizens have reported 15,501 COVID-19 scams since the start of the year, followed by Florida, with 10,228 complaints, and Texas, with 9,304 complaints, followed closely by New York, with 9,139 complaints.