ANALYSIS: Fighting Covid-19 Fraud Will Drag on Past Viral Wave

Scammers never let a good crisis go to waste. Accordingly, as part of the government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak caused by the new coronavirus, market and competition authorities in the U.S. and abroad are trying to keep the disrupted markets for important products stable and reliable. Particularly for online merchants, the pain from investigations, disruptions, and costs could last well past the viral emergency itself.

In the U.S., the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have each issued statements and warnings on March 9 about violating antitrust and unfair competition laws during the crisis. In hard-hit Italy, ...