Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is cracking down on price gouging for supplies meant to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Demand has risen for protective masks, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant. That is causing some sellers to charge people excessive prices. Moody says her team has received allegations that Amazon sellers have been hiking prices more than 1,000% on items protected under Florida price gouging laws.
Moody released a YouTube video urging Floridians to report price gouging when they see it.
"Our office has secured more than $100,000 in refunds for consumers and issued dozens of subpoenas to further our price gouging investigations. We will not relent in these efforts to protect Floridians from gauging and COVID-19 related scams during this unprecedented time of crisis," Moody says.
Under Florida law, if a state of emergency is declared, people cannot price gouge essential commodities. Moody's team has outlined what items are currently protected.
"You can help us by reporting outrageous price increases on essential commodities to my office whenever and wherever you encounter them," Moody says.
There are three ways to report price gouging:
Call 1(866) 9NO-SCAM
Visit MyFloridaLegal.com
Download the state's price gouging report app called 'NO SCAM.'
"Please help us on this mission and remember, if we follow the advice of our health experts, we will get through this crisis," Moody says.
Floridians who can't find essential commodities have resorted to making their own. For protective masks, the CDC has released a tutorial on how people can make their own.
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