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Billions Lost to Cybercrime

The FBI says that cybercrime is up by 91 percent over the last several years, and people over the age of 60 are frequently the targets of these rip-offs.

On an average day, the FBI receives nearly 1,000 complaints of internet crimes. The FBI says that cybercrime is up by 91 percent over the last several years, and people over the age of 60 are frequently the targets of these rip-offs. Internet crimes increased by 17 percent in 2018 alone.

During that year, cybercrimes cost Americans over $2.7 billion. Imagine what positive things that money could have done in the pockets of seniors, instead of in the hands of the crooks. You could buy a lot of groceries, pay utility bills and purchase needed medications with that much money. With billions lost to cybercrime, seniors need to understand the magnitude of this growing criminal enterprise.

Types of Cybercrime

There is almost no limit to the ways con artists can take other people’s money online. Here are but a few examples of cybercrime:

  • Goods and services. This category includes when people pay for products or services online but never receive the items, or when people ship things to people who do not pay for them. More than 65,000 people filed complaints with the FBI for this type of theft in 2018.
  • More than 50,000 people were victims of extortion. A common tactic is that a virus gets into your computer. The crook threatens to destroy all the data on your computer, if you do not pay a ransom. Even after some people pay the ransom, their data gets erased.
  • Personal data breaches. More than 50,000 Americans had their personal data stolen. A common way this crime happens is that you enter your name, address, and credit card information into a form on a website to purchase something, only to find out later that the website was not a legitimate business. The crooks now have all the information they need to buy things using your credit card.
  • Compromised business email addresses accounted for nearly half of the total dollar value of cybercrime losses. When a crook hijacks your company’s email address, it can perpetrate frauds and tarnish your business reputation. The con artist sends out fake emails in the name of a high-level executive directing people to wire money to the crook, who is masquerading as the company official.
  • Investment scams cost Americans more than a quarter of a billion dollars.
  • People lost more than $360 million in confidence or romance frauds.

How Internet Crooks Find You

You do not have to use a computer to get ripped off by these crooks. Your cell phone, tablet, notebook, or any other internet-connected device can give thieves an open door to scam you.

What an Internet Crime Victim Should Do

You must act immediately, when you suspect that someone has committed cybercrime against you or a loved one. Think of internet crime as an injury that causes massive bleeding. You have to stop the bleeding right away.

Contact your bank and credit cards at once. You should also put a fraud alert on your credit report to prevent the crooks from using your personal information to set up new accounts. Report the crime to the FBI’s Internet Crimes Complaint Center (IC3). The FBI recently created a Domestic Recovery Asset Team as part of the IC3, to get money back for fraud victims. The FBI was able to recover around 75 percent of the money stolen from cybercrime victims in 2018.

References:

AARP. “Cybercrimes cost Americans $2.7 Billion in 2018.” (accessed May 15, 2019)

https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/fbi-cybercrimes-increase.html

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