Internet Crime Complaint Center Highlights
Of the complaints involving financial harm that were referred to law enforcement, the highest median dollar losses were • found among investment fraud ($3,200), overpayment fraud ($2,500), and advance fee fraud ($1,500) complainants.
I was surprised the amounts were not higher.
Of the top five categories of offenses reported to law enforcement during 2009, non-delivered merchandise and/or • payment ranked 19.9%; identity theft, 14.1%; credit card fraud, 10.4%; auction fraud, 10.3%; and computer fraud (destruction/damage/vandalism of property), 7.9%.
Among complainants, 54% were male, nearly two-thirds were between the ages of 30 and 50, and a little over one-• third resided in one of the following states: California, Florida, Texas, or New York. The majority of complainants were from the United States (92%). However, IC3 received a number of complaints originating in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and Puerto Rico.
Male complainants lost more money than female complainants (ratio of $1.51 lost per male to every $1.00 lost per • female). Individuals 40-49 years of age reported, on average, higher amounts of loss than other age groups.
I do hope this is not for the most obvious male internet item.
In addition to FBI scams, popular scam trends for 2009 included hitman scams, astrological reading frauds, • economic scams, job site scams, and fake pop-up ads for antivirus software.
The 2010 report is not yet available.