U.S. Online Fraud Losses Doubled in 2009
March 15th, 2010 by Max Anhoury
Last week, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released its 2009 Annual Report on Internet fraud activity, and the results were staggering. According to the report, in 2009 U.S. citizens lost nearly $560 million to online scams. That number more than doubled the $265M in online fraud losses reported in 2008. The IC3, which tracks worldwide complaints of Internet fraud through its Web site, also said the total number of complaints in 2009 jumped 22% compared to 2008.
In the article, “Internet fraud’s U.S. price tag put at $550 million,” Donald Brackman, director of the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), said the growing figures can be largely attributed to increasingly sophisticated online schemes and cyber criminals’ ability to hide their true identities online.
“Criminals are continuing to take full advantage of the anonymity afforded them by the Internet. They are also developing increasingly sophisticated means of defrauding unsuspecting consumers.”
FBI special agent, Charles Pavelites, added that another reason the numbers continue to climb year over year is the simple fact that more people are using the Internet than ever, which increases the overall pool of online criminals and potential victims.
Findings like these underscore the ongoing need for individuals and businesses to stay on top of emerging threats, take all necessary precautions around unsolicited emails and Web sites they’re providing personal information or making online payments on, and, of course, make sure they’re using the latest anti-virus software and solutions. The key to evolving cyber crimes is the fact that criminals are taking advantage of the latest technology and techniques to defraud anyone they can. Shouldn’t we be doing the same to protect ourselves?
Tags: anti-virus software, cyber crime, fraud losses, Internet Crime Compliant Center, Internet fraud, online criminals, online payments, online scams
