Farmworkers and COVID: ‘A ticking time bomb’

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It’s been referred to as a “ticking time bomb,” the coronavirus and its potential impact on farmworkers—the incredibly hard-working men, women, and children who pick our fruits and vegetables and provide other essential agricultural work. Farmworkers are notoriously underpaid for dirty, back-breaking work and now face great risk from COVID-19.

Farmworker advocacy groups that National Consumers League (NCL) works with or supports—such as Farmworker Justice, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the United Farmworkers of America (UFW), the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, and a national cadre of legal aid attorneys—have spent recent months strategizing about ways to protect this community that is especially vulnerable to the virus.

Farmworkers are poor, with extremely limited access to health care and, due to their poverty, often report to work despite illness. The risks of an outbreak are especially great because workers often toil in close physical proximity to one another as they harvest, ride to the fields in crowded buses and cars, have limited access to sanitary facilities, including hand-washing, and often live in overcrowded, dilapidated housing.

Despite their essential contributions to the economy, farmworkers have been cut out of the emergency relief packages. The Trump Administration has even revealed plans to lower pay for agricultural guest workers who sacrifice home and family to come to the United States to perform arduous farm labor. Advocates fear that decreasing guest worker wages would drive down wages for farmworkers already living and working in the United States.

The majority of farmworkers are immigrants from Mexico or are the children of Mexican immigrants, often socially isolated from mainstream America. Poverty forced many farmworkers to leave school at an early age. It also causes them to bring their children to work in the fields so that child labor can supplement their meager incomes. Language and cultural barriers further their isolation. NCL, through the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), which it founded and co-chairs, continues to work to close the loopholes in labor laws that allow children in agriculture to work at early ages—often 12—and to begin performing hazardous work at age 16.

“When the virus began to move into America’s rural areas, many socially- and culturally-isolated farmworkers hadn’t heard about the virus,” said Reid Maki, director of child labor issues and coordinator of the CLC. “Some were confused that the grocery store shelves were empty and that the bottled water they usually buy suddenly cost much more. In some cases, farmworkers are not being told about the virus or the need to take special precautions while working.”

Farmworkers face an alarming dearth of protective equipment. Many farmworkers groups, are urgently racing to provide masks and other protective gear.

A farmworker with COVID-19 is unlikely to know he or she has it and, therefore, very likely to keep working and infect their family and coworkers. Recently, a growers group tested 71 tree fruit workers in Wenatchee, WA. Although none of the workers were showing symptoms of COVID-19, more than half tested positive!

Concerned about these developments, the CLC wrote letters in May to several appropriators and the Committee on Agriculture, asking for additional nutritional and childcare resources for farmworker families.

Box: How to get involved

  • Sign the Food Chain Workers Alliance to urge Congress to include resources for food chain workers.
  • Sign UFW’s petition urging Congress to stop Trump Administration efforts to lower wages for agricultural guest workers.
  • Make masks and send them to farmworker groups in your state.
  • Urge congressional representatives to fund farmworker relief efforts.

Fraud alert: Use caution when talking to ‘old friends’ on Facebook

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Facebook is a terrific tool for staying in touch with old friends, former classmates, family, and community members. Unfortunately, like other popular social media platforms, it also attracts scammers looking to abuse the system for their own gain. We’ve recently heard from nearly a dozen consumers who have contacted Fraud.org about scammers using Facebook’s Messenger service to try to defraud them by posing as long lost friends.

The set-up for these scams is remarkably consistent. Consumers who sent us complaints report that these scams begin when they receive a message on Facebook Messenger from someone impersonating a former classmate or an old friend. When the recipient responds, the scammer strikes up a conversation to build trust. Once trust is established, the impersonator urges the consumer to send a text message to a number the scammer controls to get information on a grant, prize, or even government stimulus funds. When the victim texts the number, they are urged to pay an up-front fee and/or supply personal information (Social Security number, bank account/credit card information, etc.) to collect the non-existent money. Victims who do send the money are then urged to send even more money until they catch on. Unfortunately, the money is often sent via wire transfer or gift cards, which are extremely difficult or impossible to stop or reverse.

While this scam is not new, the request to take the conversation off Facebook Messenger and on to text message is a new twist. This is likely due to the scammers trying to evade anti-fraud technology employed by Facebook.

Here are tips to reduce your risk of falling victim to this scam:

Don’t immediately assume your Facebook friend is who they claim to be. Thanks to widespread data breaches, it is not difficult for scammers to get the information they need to compromise a Facebook account. If you receive a message from someone you have not spoken to in a long time, do not assume that the message is legitimate. The safest course of action is to simply ignore the message.

Test them. If you do engage in a conversation and become suspicious, you can try to verify the identity of the person messaging you by asking them a question only they would know (i.e., who was our 9th grade English teacher?).

Beware requests to take conversations off Facebook Messenger. Complaints we have received often describe requests to move conversation from Facebook (where they can be monitored) to text message. This is a big red flag for fraud.

Anyone who asks you to send money to get money is swindling you. If you are asked to pay money to collect a prize, grant, stimulus check, or any other type of reward, it is a scam.

Turn on two-factor authentication and encourage your friends to do the same. One of the reasons this scam occurs is that consumers tend to re-use passwords across multiple websites (your email and Facebook account, for example). That means that if your username and password are compromised at one website, scammers can use that information to try and compromise your account at other websites. An effective way to reduce the risk of this is to turn on two-factor authentication. This will require anyone trying to log in to your Facebook account to supply a special code (typically provided via text message or an authentication app) before they can log in.

If you suspect that you have become a victim, report it immediately. You can file a complaint at Fraud.org via our secure online complaint form. We’ll share your complaint with our network of law enforcement and consumer protection agency partners who can investigate and help put fraudsters behind bars.

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Scammers coming out of woodwork to prey on vulnerable

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Today’s economic news is grim. Nearly 40 million Americans have found themselves without employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the newly jobless, state unemployment insurance benefits are a lifeline that helps them keep the lights on and provide food for their families. Unfortunately, the combination of billions of dollars in federal stimulus money flowing to state unemployment funds and the tens of millions of new claimants has created a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity for identity thieves: unemployment benefits scams.

According to the Secret Service and media reports, organized rings of criminals are working to siphon off unemployment insurance payments, potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars, intended for workers who have been laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the state of Washington, for example, scammers reportedly made off with nearly $1.6 million in a single month. This scam is reportedly even affecting consumers who have not yet lost their jobs.

The recent spike in this type of scam is unfortunately not unique. When news captures the public’s attention—think major hurricanes, terrorist attacks, and economic slowdowns—scammers come out of the woodwork to take advantage of legitimate fears and concerns. In today’s coronavirus environment, there is an unprecedented opportunity for criminals to use the public’s fears about the virus and the resulting economic downturn to defraud consumers.

Since the pandemic began, NCL’s Fraud.org project has seen an uptick in complaints about a variety of scams preying on increasingly vulnerable, financially strapped, and fearful consumers.

“Scammers running phishing schemes, stimulus check fraud, and even pet adoption scams have all been working overtime to use the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to defraud consumers,” said John Breyault, director of NCL’s Fraud.org campaign. “We forecast these scams will continue to increase and evolve and are eager to get the word out about how Pennsylvanians can protect themselves.”

Over the last several months, NCL has devoted monthly Fraud Alerts to giving consumers the tools to spot and avoid some of the many types of scams related to COVID-19. Alerts have featured the most pernicious types of scams that are increasing due to coronavirus, ranging from job scams to increased reports of fraudulent robocall activity.

“As the coronavirus has upended daily life, robocall operators have quickly shifted to blasting out spam phone calls offering all manner of coronavirus-related products and services,” said Breyault. It’s estimated that at least one million robocalls per day are inundating Americans’ cell phones. Fraudulent robocallers are offering air duct sanitation services, work-from-home opportunities, cut-rate health insurance, and immune-system boosting nutritional supplements. Other robocalls have reportedly offered free insulin kits to diabetics, along with free coronavirus testing kits.

“At best, consumers who respond to these calls are setting themselves up to lose money for a non-existent product or service,” said Breyault. “At worst, delaying needed emergency treatments on the belief that a fake coronavirus treatment will save your life could be deadly to you and those you come into contact with.”

In May, NCL hosted a virtual fireside chat with Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and a panel of consumer protection experts on the growing threat of scams linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. NCL’s Breyault and AG Shapiro discussed what they are hearing from consumers, tactics for reaching the most vulnerable populations, and the importance of collaboration for getting key messages out to consumers.

“The work [NCL] is doing to get the word out is so important,” said General Shapiro. “There will be some people who hear my voice, and some people who hear your voice. But the key is that collectively we are warning people about scams and that we’re working together to share actual information—not myths—and not propaganda by one group or the other.”

Everything’s canceled. Now what?

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The COVID-19 pandemic upended the daily rhythms for hundreds of millions of consumers, seemingly overnight. Airlines cancelled more than 90 percent of their flights. Gyms and health clubs closed en masse. Tens of thousands of concerts, Broadway shows, and sporting events have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely. What do all these businesses have in common?

They all take money from consumers in advance for services (e.g., flight, concerts, yoga classes) to be provided at some point in the future. For consumers, this meant that they have hundreds or even thousands of dollars tied up for services that cannot be provided due to COVID-related lockdowns.

While many businesses have done the right thing and refunded consumers, many have not. For example, many airlines have made obtaining refunds for canceled flights difficult even though Department of Transportation regulations require prompt refunds in the event a flight is cancelled. Big ticketing companies like Ticketmaster have given ticket-holders mixed messages on whether and how they can obtain refunds. And many gyms continue to collect membership fees even though they are closed to the public.

“There is no question that businesses are struggling with unprecedented difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said John Breyault, NCL vice president of public policy, telecommunications, and fraud. “The airlines that are unable to fly still must maintain their airplanes and pay their employees. Ticketing companies facing canceled events are often at the mercy of promoters, artists, and sports leagues. But the needs of these businesses must be weighed against the needs of consumers, tens of millions of whom are newly jobless and struggling to make ends meet.”

It is for this reason that NCL has been actively pressuring airlines and ticketing companies to promptly provide consumers with full refunds for cancelled and postponed flights and live events. NCL experts have contributed to dozens of newspaper, television, and radio interviews raising awareness about this problem and communicating the outrage they are hearing daily
from consumers.

“What consumers are being asked to do, essentially, is give airlines, ticketing giants, and other businesses long-term no-interest loans with no expectation for when the service they paid for will be provided,” said Breyault. “At a time when millions of families are wondering where the next mortgage or rent payment is going to come from, we can’t let unscrupulous businesses get away with that.”

In addition to raising alarm in the press, NCL has endorsed consumer protection legislation like the Cash Refunds for Coronavirus Cancellations Act of 2020. That bill, proposed by consumer champions like Senators Ed Markey, Richard Blumenthal, and Elizabeth Warren, would require airlines to refund the more than $10 billion on consumers’ money they are holding on to from cancelled flight reservations. NCL is also a long-time supporter of the Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act of 2019 (BOSS ACT). That bill, introduced by Congressmen Bill Pascrell and Frank Pallone and Senator Blumenthal would require that any refunds provided for cancelled or postponed events include all ancillary fees paid.

With the return to a pre-COVID “normal” still far away, and new outbreaks expected in the fall, it is likely that consumers will continue to encounter difficulties receiving refunds for some time. NCL will continue to be on the front lines to make sure that consumers are not left holding the bag when big businesses cannot hold up their end of the bargain.

Price gouging a threat to consumers in new economy

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In past natural and man-made disasters, whether in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina or the 2008-09 financial crisis, opportunistic bad actors have sought to squeeze every last penny from desperate consumers. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis seems to be a little different in this respect.

In the earliest days of pandemic panic, reports of overpriced goods were widespread; products were flying off of shelves, and those that remained were often dramatically marked up. NCL learned of $10 milk, $100+ dollar masks, and outrageous prices on toilet paper. Two Tennessee brothers who stockpiled 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer with the intent to sell them at a mark-
up online earned instant national notoriety.

“Like moths to the flame, profiteers cannot resist the allure of easy money. In this time of national emergency, it should perhaps come as little surprise that those who wish to make a quick buck off the desperation of consumers are finding few obstacles in their way,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg.

This spring, price gouging proved to be an immediate threat to consumers across the nation, as unscrupulous sellers increased pricing online and in-person of essentials ranging from personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer, disinfectant products, and even toilet paper and paper towels.

According to the National Law Review, “in normal times, there would be nothing problematic about a seller’s unilateral decision to increase its prices in response to higher consumer demand. However, with emergency declarations in most—if not all—states, such price increases may lead to hefty civil fines and even imprisonment under state laws prohibiting price gouging.”

Indeed, price gouging in times of crisis is illegal in most states. For example, Maryland’s anti-gouging statute prohibits raising the price of many consumer goods and services that increase the seller’s profit by more than 10 percent while the COVID-19 emergency, declared by Governor Larry Hogan, is in effect. California has a similar statute, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine.

“While state laws are important, enforcement alone won’t solve this problem,” said Greenberg. “Reputable businesses must also play their part to keep price gouging off their shelves. We are encouraged when we see sellers committing to stomping out price gouging, such as Amazon’s announcement in April of a ‘zero tolerance’ policy against it.”

In practice, Amazon’s policy means the company is working to remove price gougers from its marketplace, forwarding reports of price gouging to law enforcement, and making it clear to their sellers that price gouging is not allowed. Amazon has removed more than half a million products and suspended thousands of seller accounts in the United States since its commitment to stopping price gougers in its ecommerce platform.

Others are fighting against gouging in different ways. In May, in response to more than 500 complaints from residents about price gouging on essential goods, the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs announced the launch of a mobile app to make it easier to report cases of price gouging and phony COVID-19 remedies.

“The overwhelming majority of sellers on sites like Amazon, eBay, and other online marketplaces are honest,” said Greenberg. “But these e-commerce marketplaces are where millions of consumers are going to find much-needed products. Particularly for consumers who are at high risk, these online services can be a lifeline, enabling them to stay home, avoid going out into public, and decreasing their chances of contracting the virus. We call on retailers to do the right thing during this terrible pandemic.”