Protecting Consumers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Year in Review

"One of the FTC’s strengths is the ability to anticipate and respond to current events and the predatory behavior that capitalizes on those events. Over the past year, the FTC found that consumers were struggling from the pandemic in several key ways. First and foremost, they were anxious about their health and safety and the health and safety of their loved ones. Second, some consumers faced unprecedented economic distress. Third, consumers spent much more time online, making them more susceptible to digital harms.

Our data, research, and outreach surfaced specific threats within each of these areas. Hundreds of marketers began making deceptive claims as they peddled COVID-related products and services. Schemes proliferated in response to demand for scarce goods, to peddle treatments and cures, and to exploit the financial distress people experienced. Hundreds of thousands of people filed reports about consumer problems they experienced in the pandemic—ranging from money lost in frauds to identity theft related to government benefits. As people followed stay-home orders and their professional and educational lives moved to the digital world, it became even more important for technology companies to deliver on their privacy promises.

This report highlights the ways the Commission has worked to address these issues—through sophisticated targeting, aggressive law enforcement, and ongoing partnership and outreach. The Commission developed systems to track and alert the public to shifts in reports from consumers, launched a public dashboard providing information on reports associated with COVID-19, and used COVID-related reports to identify law enforcement targets. The FTC challenged deceptive claims through law enforcement actions and warning letters designed to effectuate the immediate removal of problematic claims. The Commission just brought its first action seeking monetary penalties under its new authority under the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act,4 targeting deceptive COVID-19 marketing of vitamin D and zinc products.5 The Commission buttressed these enforcement efforts with consumer and business education, sending out more than 100 alerts to inform consumers about COVID-19 scams, reminding businesses about their responsibilities regarding honest advertising, and alerting companies about scams targeting them. This multi-prong strategy of harnessing data, halting fraud in its tracks, educating consumers and businesses, and partnering with stakeholders allowed the FTC to protect consumers efficiently and effectively, including communities that were already hardest hit by the pandemic..."
Consumers and COVID-19