American consumers and businesses lost a record $12.5 billion to internet crimes in 2023, according to an annual report from the FBI.
Last year’s loss total marks a 22% jump from 2022. Meanwhile, the number of complaints covered in the 2023 Internet Crime Report rose nearly 10% to more than 880,000. In the report, the FBI stressed that the numbers are probably on the low side, given that many internet crimes still go unreported.
Investment scams again accounted for the largest percentage of internet crime last year, with related losses jumping 38% to $4.57 billion. And the majority of the losses from those scams — which ask for an up-front investment with the promise of big returns that never actually materialize — involved cryptocurrency, the FBI said. Crypto-related investment scam losses jumped 53% $3.94 billion in 2023.
Business-email compromise crimes, where criminals usually compromise a legitimate business account, then use it to trick people into handing over money or information, ranked second again last year with reported losses of $2.9 billion.
Losses from tech support scams, where targets are often duped into believing that their computer is full of malware or that their antivirus or other software licenses have expired, rose 15% to nearly $1 billion, while reported losses related to ransomware complaints jumped 74% to $59.6 million.
