The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has revealed that economic losses from cybercrime in the United States have increased staggeringly, reaching an unprecedented $12.5 billion in 2023. This represents a 22% jump in losses compared to 2022.
peepee computer report According to the FBI’s 2023 Internet Crime Report, the number of complaints related to online criminal activity increased by 10% year over year, with a total of 880,000 reports. These alarming numbers highlight the growing threat posed by cybercrime and the urgency to address the problem on a national scale.
Economic losses from these cybercrimes jumped by approximately 22%, hitting an all-time high. This report identified four main categories of online crime that contributed significantly to these losses: business email compromise (BEC) fraud, investment fraud, ransomware attacks, and technical support/government impersonation fraud.
BEC fraud, which impersonates legitimate businesses and individuals to divert payments and steal sensitive information, has resulted in more than $2.9 billion in losses across 21,489 complaints. The FBI noted that fraudsters are increasingly using cryptocurrency platforms to quickly disperse stolen funds.
Investment fraud was driven primarily by a 53% increase in crypto fraud, with confirmed losses reaching $4.57 billion, a staggering 38% increase year-over-year. This category is currently the main source of economic losses tracked by IC3.
Ransomware attacks have crippled critical infrastructure sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, government, and IT, with losses of at least $59.6 million reported. However, the FBI acknowledges that this number may underestimate the actual amount of ransom payments because many incidents go unreported.
Finally, more than $1.3 billion was lost due to tech support and government impersonation scams that primarily targeted the elderly. These scams often exploit the vulnerabilities of unsuspecting individuals through deceptive tactics and social engineering.
IC3’s Recovery Assets Team (RAT) has made progress in tracking and freezing stolen funds, with a success rate of over 71% and $538.4 million recovered since 2018, but the The sheer scale highlights the growing problem of cybercrime in the United States.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship issues.
