In 2024, there were 859,532 complaints of suspected internet crime and reported losses exceeding $16 billion, a 33 percent increase in losses from 2023, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center’s (IC3) annual internet crime report.
Other report findings include:
The top three cyber crimes were phishing/spoofing, extortion, and personal data breaches.
Victims of investment fraud reported the most losses, totaling more than $6.5 billion.
Americans 60 years old and older submitted the greatest number of complaints and suffered nearly $5 billion in losses.
California, Texas, and Florida residents submitted the most complaints.
“Reporting is one of the first and most important steps in fighting crime so law enforcement can use this information to combat a variety of frauds and scams,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “The IC3, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is only as successful as the reports it receives; that’s why it’s imperative that the public immediately report suspected cyber-enabled criminal activity to the FBI.”
The report aggregates and highlights the data provided by the general public through the IC3 website. The IC3 categorizes each complaint and identifies and forecasts trends in internet crime.
The IC3 houses 9 million complaints from the public in its database.