FBI releases 2021 Internet Crime Report

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WECT) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported 847,376 complaints of suspected internet crime in 2021, a 7% increase from 2020 that resulted in losses exceeding $6.9 billion.

The FBI released the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2021 Internet Crime Report and accompanying 2021 State Reports Tuesday.

Of the more than 30 crime types reported, the top three cyber crimes were phishing scams, non-payment/non-delivery scams, and personal data breach, closely followed by identity theft and extortion.

Most money was lost by victims of business email compromise scams, investment fraud, and romance and confidence schemes. In the past five years, money lost by victims has grown almost five-fold from $1.4 billion to $6.9 billion.

The FBI reminds the public to report suspected criminal internet activity to the IC3 immediately at ic3.gov.

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