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Florida Attorney General Urging Floridians To Report Price Gouging, Crack Down In Full Swing

A woman with long hair who is wearing a blazer looks toward at viewer as she speaks. Behind her is what looks to be a forest, tall plants with long flat leaves and trees.
Ashley Moody
/
FL Attorney General Ashley Moody YouTube Page

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.

Robbie Gaffney graduated from Florida State University with degrees in Digital Media Production and Creative Writing. Before working at WFSU, they recorded FSU’s basketball and baseball games for Seminole Productions as well as interned for the PBS Station in Largo, Florida. Robbie loves playing video games such as Shadow of the Colossus, Animal Crossing, and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Their other hobbies include sleeping and watching anime.