CHICAGO — More than 200 organizations sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on March 31, calling on it to end impersonation fraud by passing a rule that targets government and business imposters.
The FTC said that impersonator scams were the most reported scam in 2022, and in the same consumer alert from the FTC it said that it caused estimated losses of $2.6 billion. According to the FTC, higher losses were to business impostors, with $660 million of losses in 2022, compared to $453 million in 2021. The letter said that business-impersonating scammers increased nearly 50% compared to 2021.
“For the Consumer Technology Association, which produces CES, impersonation fraud is personal,” J. David Grossman, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs at CTA, told TSE. “Fraudulent solicitations, from the sale of false discounted badges to fraudulent websites offering hotel bookings, dramatically increase each year during the leadup to CES. In assembling a diverse coalition of over 200 organizations, it is abundantly clear that no industry is spared from impersonation fraud. Impersonation scams have a broad impact on nearly every sector of the U.S. economy, from health care and education to transportation and tech. We hope this letter sends a clear message to the Federal Trade Commission that action is urgently needed to proceed expeditiously to a final rule targeting government and business imposters.”
The CTA reported receiving at least half of a dozen impersonation scam reports using the CES logo, both during and after the show took place in January.
Affected associations and professional organizations can request to testify at the FTC’s hearing on the issue on May 4, or submit written comments into the record sharing how impersonation scams impact their business, customers and brand/reputation. The request to testify and submit written testimony must be done by April 14, and the submission spot is found here.
“Every day, the business events industry is targeted by increasingly sophisticated scammers,” Tommy Goodwin, Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance Vice President, Government Affairs, said. “From event attendees list sale scams to hotel booking scams, these scammers are targeting the small businesses, entrepreneurs and 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 fraud.”
Reach J. David Grossman at dgrossman@cta.tech; Tommy Goodwin at tommy.goodwin@ecalliance.us
