FBI Reports All-Time High In Internet Fraud Losses

eldavojohn writes "While the number of cases dropped, the amount of money lost to internet fraud reached an all-time high in 2007, a new government report states. 'According to the 2007 Internet Crime Report, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 206,884 complaints of crimes perpetrated over the Internet during 2007. Of the complaints received, more than 90,000 were referred to law enforcement around the nation, amounting to nearly $240 million in reported losses. This represents a $40 million increase in reported losses from complaints referred to law enforcement in 2006.' The top ruses used by the fraudsters involved pets, romance and secret shoppers. The original report[Large PDF] is available online, and it contains some interesting graphs. One indicates that the two largest types of fraud are Auction Fraud and Non-delivery, which combine for over 60% of all cases. As Computerworld notes, men are more likely to fall for scams than women, and over 30% of losses are between $1,000 and $5,000. The report also contains data about the location of the perpetrators (Nigeria only accounts for 5.7%), age demographics, and contact methods."

Still profitable

[edwardpickman]

(Nigeria only accounts for 5.7%)

Yes but to put it into perspective that still accounts for 60% of the GNP of Nigeria.

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[Overkill Nbuta]

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Unfair

[CSMatt]

As Computerworld notes, men are more likely to fall for scams than women, and over 30% of losses are between $1,000 and $5,000.

Hey! It's not my fault that the most interesting and nifty stuff is only available online!

Lies, damn lies and statistics...

[fahrbot-bot]

Auction Fraud and Non-delivery, which combine for over 60% of all cases ... Nigeria only accounts for 5.7%.

Yes, but non-delivery of Nigerian auction purchases - HUGE.

Re:New victims?

[houstonbofh]

Internet targeted marketing allows you to reach a maximum number of stupid people guaranteeing success in your fraudulent endeavors. Included in our package is the document "Ten Thousand ways to find Stupid People.pdf" and a free spell checker to give misspellings guaranteed to engender trust. Just send $1500 to our trusted escrow agent...

Re:A suckers born every second.

[FoolsGold]

Not a big surprise, I'm sure most of us can think of at least one person who's been scammed online.

*raises hand*

I bought Vista from an online retailer. The copy was completely legit, but I still felt scammed. And a little dirty.

Re:Corporations should be held more accountable

[timmarhy]

I just knew it was those evil corporations all along. even when it was the criminals, i just KNEW somehow it was the corporations....

Re:A suckers born every second.

[Artuir]

How'd you run it? I bought a copy of Vista Ultimate and before I even put the DVD in the drive, my computer jumped out a window!

Re:A suckers born every second.

[CarpetShark]

I bought Vista from an online retailer. The copy was completely legit, but I still felt scammed. And a little dirty.

That's because, as the article says:

One indicates that the two largest types of fraud are Auction Fraud and Non-delivery, which combine for over 60% of all cases.

The other 40% is Windows.