It appears the only things spreading faster than the coronavirus during the pandemic are scammers and fraud.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, COVID-19 has resulted in increased numbers of fraudulent texts, emails and calls from a “government agency” promising to get your relief money for you.

Others scams include websites that promise scarce cleaning products or masks, or problems related to getting money back for cancelled travel plans.

And, the number of scams is expected to rise now that people are getting stimulus checks.

The FTC broke down the Bureau of Consumer Protection’s data.

Here are the bullet points:

The top complaint categories relate to travel and vacations, online shopping, bogus text messages, and imposters.

Robocalls are down, but consumers are reporting callers pretending to be from the government, or making illegal medical or health care pitches.

The FTC has issued some tips to help separate legitimate claims to the scams:

The government will never call to ask for money or your personal information (like Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers).

Do not pay by Western Union or Money Gram, or by putting money on a gift card. The government and legit businesses will never tell you to pay that way.

According to the FTC, there have been 20,334 COVID-19 complaints that carry an estimated $15.6 million in losses. Only 46 percent of claims indicate a loss of money.

Here are the top 5 fraud products or services:

Travel/Vacations: 3,253 ($5,379,00) Online shopping: 2,008 ($1,547,000) Text messages: 1,118 ($7,800) Internet information services: 446 ($185,000) Imposter: 434 ($1,187,000)

Alabama ranks relatively low compared the rest of the country with 180 reported complaints. The state has 89 fraud cases, 66 deemed other, 12 Do Not Call complaints and 15 identify theft complaints.

California leads the nation with 2,399 reported complaints, while Florida ranks second with 1,476.

You can check out state by state complaints here.

Meanwhile, the IRS is bracing for another epidemic — scammers trying to get their hands on the $1,200 payments being sent out to millions of Americans to bolster the economy.

The payments, plus an additional $500 for each child, have begun hitting bank accounts this week, opening a wide avenue of opportunities for scams, identity theft and low-tech crimes such as stealing checks from mailboxes.

“Right now, due to how vulnerable the population is, it’s really prime picking for fraudsters to come out in full force,” Donna Parent, the chief marketing officer at Sontiq, an identity theft protection company, told The Associated Press earlier this week.

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Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.