The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has revealed a staggering increase in financial losses due to cybercrime in the United States, reaching an unprecedented $12.5 billion in 2023. This represents a 22 percent jump in losses over 2022.
BleepingComputer reports that according to the FBI’s 2023 Internet Crime Report, the number of complaints related to online criminal activities rose by 10 percent compared to the previous year, totaling 880,000 reports. This alarming figure highlights the growing threat posed by cybercriminals and the urgency to address this issue on a national scale.
The financial losses stemming from these cyber-enabled crimes surged by a concerning 22 percent, marking a new record high. The report identified four primary categories of online crimes that contributed significantly to these losses: Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, investment fraud, ransomware attacks, and tech support/government impersonation scams.
BEC scams, which involve the impersonation of legitimate businesses or individuals to divert payments or steal sensitive information, resulted in over $2.9 billion in losses from 21,489 complaints. The FBI noted a trend where fraudsters are increasingly utilizing cryptocurrency platforms to quickly disperse stolen funds.
Investment fraud, driven primarily by a 53 percent increase in cryptocurrency scams, caused confirmed losses of $4.57 billion, a staggering 38 percent rise from the previous year. This category has now become the leading source of financial losses tracked by the IC3.
Ransomware attacks, which cripple critical infrastructure sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, government, and IT, resulted in at least $59.6 million in reported losses. However, the FBI acknowledges that this figure likely underestimates the true extent of ransom payments, as many incidents go unreported.
Finally, tech support and government impersonation scams, primarily targeting the elderly, led to more than $1.3 billion in losses. These scams exploit the vulnerabilities of unsuspecting individuals, often through deceptive tactics and social engineering.
While the IC3’s Recovery Asset Team (RAT) has made progress in tracing and freezing stolen funds, with a success rate of over 71 percent and $538.4 million recovered since 2018, the sheer scale of financial losses highlights the growing issue of cybercrime in the U.S.
Read more at BleepingComputer here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
