CHICAGO — More than 200 organizations sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on March 31, calling on it to end identity theft fraud by adopting a rule targeting government and commercial imposters.
The FTC said identity theft scams were the most reported scam in 2022, and in the Same FTC Consumer Alert According to the FTC, the largest losses were incurred by business imposters, with $660 million in losses in 2022, compared to $453 million in 2021. The letter says the number of scammers impersonating businesses has increased by nearly 50% compared to 2021.
“For the Consumer Technology Association, which produces CES, impersonation fraud is a personal matter,” J. David Grossman, CTA’s vice president of regulatory affairs, told TSE. “Fraudulent solicitations, from selling discounted fake badges to fraudulent websites offering hotel reservations, increase dramatically each year in the lead-up to CES. By bringing together a diverse coalition of more than 200 organizations, it is abundantly clear that no industry is immune to impersonation fraud. Impersonation scams have a broad impact on nearly every sector of the U.S. economy, from healthcare and education to transportation and technology. We hope this letter sends a clear message to the Federal Trade Commission that urgent action is needed to swiftly move forward with a final rule targeting government and commercial imposters.”
The CTA reported receiving at least a half-dozen reports of impersonation scams using the CES logo during and after the show in January.
Relevant associations and professional organisations may request to testify before the FTC Hearing on the Issue on May 4or submit written comments to the record explaining how identity theft scams affect their business, customers, and brand/reputation. The request for testimony and submission of written testimony must be made by April 14, and the submission location can be found here.
“Every day, the professional events industry is being targeted by increasingly sophisticated scammers,” said Tommy Goodwin, vice president of government affairs for the Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance. “From attendee list scams to hotel reservation scams, these scammers are targeting small businesses, entrepreneurs, and the hard-working men and women who rely on trade shows and conferences to grow their businesses. Enough is enough, which is why ECA is proud to join the call for the FTC to urgently adopt a new rule targeting these types of business impersonation scams.”
Reach J. David Grossman at dgrossman@cta.tech; Tommy Goodwin at tommy.goodwin@ecalliance.us