Internet crime becoming more sophisticated, spawning highest losses and complaints to date

The FBI Internet Complaint Center’s (IC3) 2019 Internet Crime Report found that last year, internet-enabled crimes spawned the highest number of complaints and losses since May 2000.

In all, IC3 took in 467,361 complaints in 2019 and tracked more than $3.5 billion in losses among individuals and businesses. It marks the most problematic report since the center was founded in 2000 and reflects the imperative to report crimes and scams, the FBI said.

“Criminals are getting so sophisticated,” Donna Gregory, IC3 chief, said. “It is getting harder and harder for victims to spot the red flags and tell real from fake…You may get a text message that appears to be your bank asking you to verify information on your account. Or you may even search a service online and inadvertently end up on a fraudulent site that gathers your bank or credit card information.”

Gregory noted that the types of fraud the IC3 evaluated in 2019 were not new, but the tactics and techniques used to bring them to fruition were. Email remains a common focus, but text message-based frauds and fake websites used for pharming data have begun to spread. The most frequently reported complaints remained things like phishing, non-payment/non-delivery scams, and extortion.

Scrutiny is critical because of this, Gregory pointed out, whether for a business or an individual. Businesses were hard-hit by scams last year as well: 23,775 complaints to the IC3 about email compromises led to more than $1.7 billion in losses.

Rapid reporting might not always stop bad actors, but the information helps, and according to the IC3, it could help law enforcement stop fraudulent transactions before money disappears for good. The FBI’s Recovery Asset Team recovered more than $300 million for victims in 2019.