Cybercrime Increases by One Third, Says FBI
We already knew that the internet can prove to be a very dangerous place, now with all sorts of threats lurking about, threats ranging from the common internet worm and Trojan downloader to the dangerous cybercriminal that wants nothing more than to make off with your hard earned cash. According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (US FBI), the number of complaints regarding cybercrimes, as well as the amounts lost to online crime, is on the increase – by 33%.
The information is included in a detailed report put together by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in collaboration with the FBI, report entitled “The 2008 Annual Report.” Over the whole year of 2008 the FBi received a grad total of 275,824 complaints, amounting to $265 million in losses; compared to the 206,884 and $239.09 million registered in 2007, one can notice the number of complaints has gone up by more than one third.
“Non-delivered merchandise and/or payment was, by far, the most reported offense, comprising 32.9% of referred complaints. Internet auction fraud accounted for 25.5% of referred complaints. Credit/debit card fraud made up 9.0% of referred complaints. Confidence fraud, computer fraud, check fraud, and Nigerian letter fraud round out the top seven categories of complaints referred to law enforcement during the year,” explains the report.
Here is some other interesting piece of information included in the report: 74% of perpetrators were male, 54% of complaints were made by male individuals, and for each 1$ lost to cybercrime by a woman, a male user lost $1.69. The bottom line is clear: males are more related to cybercrime than women are, be it that they are the perpetrators or the target of the online criminal.
FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Shawn Henry: “This report illustrates that sophisticated computer fraud schemes continue to flourish as financial data migrates to the Internet. It also underscores the need for continued vigilance on the part of law enforcement, businesses, and the home computer user to be aware of these schemes and employ sound security procedures.”
If you would like to take a look at the report yourself, you can do so here (PDF warning).
The information is included in a detailed report put together by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in collaboration with the FBI, report entitled “The 2008 Annual Report.” Over the whole year of 2008 the FBi received a grad total of 275,824 complaints, amounting to $265 million in losses; compared to the 206,884 and $239.09 million registered in 2007, one can notice the number of complaints has gone up by more than one third.
“Non-delivered merchandise and/or payment was, by far, the most reported offense, comprising 32.9% of referred complaints. Internet auction fraud accounted for 25.5% of referred complaints. Credit/debit card fraud made up 9.0% of referred complaints. Confidence fraud, computer fraud, check fraud, and Nigerian letter fraud round out the top seven categories of complaints referred to law enforcement during the year,” explains the report.
Here is some other interesting piece of information included in the report: 74% of perpetrators were male, 54% of complaints were made by male individuals, and for each 1$ lost to cybercrime by a woman, a male user lost $1.69. The bottom line is clear: males are more related to cybercrime than women are, be it that they are the perpetrators or the target of the online criminal.
FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Shawn Henry: “This report illustrates that sophisticated computer fraud schemes continue to flourish as financial data migrates to the Internet. It also underscores the need for continued vigilance on the part of law enforcement, businesses, and the home computer user to be aware of these schemes and employ sound security procedures.”
If you would like to take a look at the report yourself, you can do so here (PDF warning).
