My parents often call me for advice about unsolicited online offers that seem fishy to them. Invariably, these offers turn out to be scams. It burns me up that the unscrupulous would stoop to ripping-off the elderly. Hence my motivation for writing this article. Please share this article - Go to very top of page, right hand side, for social media buttons. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday announced a crackdown on coronavirus-related fraud. The FTC reports that consumers have lost more than $1 billion due to COVID-19 scams. In recent weeks, several states have formed “COVID-19 Fraud Task Forces" in partnership with federal agencies to combat the problem.