Covid has meant a cash bonanza for scammers. These people are fighting back against the fraudsters.

In 2020, state securities officials, often working with federal agencies, initiated thousands of investigations that resulted in enforcement actions and criminal cases. These investigations raked in $42 million in fines and penalties and led to $306 million in court-ordered restitution to victims, according to a report by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), which represents state and provincial securities regulators in the United States, Canada and Mexico.