Sue McConnell, President of the Cleveland Better Business Bureau spoke with America’s Work Force on May 4 to discuss online scammers being active during the COVID-19 pandemic.

McConnell explained that online shopping has become more popular because of stay-at-home orders, giving online scammers more opportunities. McConnell warned listeners about shopping for protective cloth masks from online shops that are not from a medical outlet. She said that scammers are using stock photos of people wearing the cloth masks and advertising the product as their own. Then when a mask is ordered, the delivered product is not as advertised. McConnell said that people need to be careful, especially in times of uncertainty, to not impulse buy protective equipment without researching the seller first.

A second scam McConnell warned listeners deals with clothing shopping on Facebook marketplace. She said that if you find designer clothing on the Facebook marketplace for a large, unbelievable discount, it is probably too good to be true. As previously recommended, McConnell strongly suggests that you research a seller before making a purchase. The last scam she talked about was “puppy” scams. McConnell said that many people have decided that it is a good time to get a pet since they are spending most of their time at home. Sellers will list a highly demanded dog breed at a low and “affordable” price. Once a payment is made, they will request money for vet fees or food and eventually never give the buyer the puppy they thought they were paying for.

Mark Gruenberg, labor writer for Press Associates Union spoke about the reopening of the economy. He spoke about the current state of our economy and what he believes it will look like once reopened. The question being asked throughout the country is will the economy collapse like in the Great Depression, or will it bounce back unscathed. Gruenberg then discussed the President’s executive order to keep meat packing facilities open. Even with the thousands of confirmed COVID-19 cases from meat packing industry workers, they are still refusing to shut the factories down. Finally, he spoke about the United States Postal Service and whether or not it will recover from its financial hardships.

AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc spoke about the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on healthcare workers’ mental health.

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