The United States’ Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has received more than 17,000 complaints from U.S. consumers who reported total losses in excess of US$13 million from COVID-19 related scams.

The crime that was reported the most was the rather broad category of fraud with 9,634 complaints, with 46.4% of them reporting a loss. It’s safe to say that the official figures don’t paint the whole picture, however, as many scams go unreported.

What You Can Do

Scams have included impersonation of local and international health authorities such as the World Health Organization, as well as creating bogus online shops selling non-existent face masks. Therefore, it’s more important than ever to remain vigilant and verify everything, even if it appears to be on the up and up at first glance. CA Networking & Consulting can help defend against hackers and data thieves. We can help you with strong firewalls, implement sound password policies, update SSL Certificates and put data encryption mechanisms in place. CA Networking & Consulting can also help educate your employees about cyber threats such as phishing. Consult with a trusted provider to learn more about how you can keep your data safe from hackers.