The Pandemic’s E-commerce Scammers, by the Numbers
The FTC reported a record number of e-commerce complaints in April and May
34,438: That’s the number of e-commerce-related complaints the Federal Trade Commission received in April and May of this year, an all-time high, with 18,372 of those complaints about items that never arrived. The FTC’s Emma Fletcher writes that thanks in large part to Covid-19 scammers launching opportunistic websites, reports of unreceived merchandise in May were double those from the last peak during the December 2019 holiday shopping season. The most-reported unreceived item? Face masks.
Since the pandemic hit, brick-and-mortar stores have been pivoting to e-commerce with the help of platforms like Shopify. However, Shopify also makes it easy for drop shippers and scammers to set up online storefronts. Given all the scammers looking to cash in on the pandemic, and how many e-commerce businesses rely on an increasingly beleaguered postal service to fulfill their orders, it’s reasonable to expect that reports of unreceived merchandise will only continue to rise. No wonder Amazon is busy turning malls into warehouses.
What bothers you more: the USPS losing your medication or your ballot?
