Just Released: 2006 Internet Crime Report
Among the highlights from the report, which is now posted on the web:
Overall totals:
During 2006, consumers filed 207,492 complaints. Complainants said they lost $198.4 million, the highest total ever.
Types of fraud:
Nearly 45 percent of the complaints involved online auction fraud—such as getting a different product than you expected—making it the largest category; more than 19 percent concerned undelivered merchandise or payments.
Another pervasive scheme last year involved an e-mail threat of murder. Get more details on all nine fraud categories in Appendix I of the report, including identity theft, investment fraud, cyberstalking, phishing, spoofing, spamming, and others.
The perpetrators: Three-quarters were men. Nearly 61 percent lived in the U.S., with half in one of seven states. Other top countries included the U.K., Nigeria, Canada, Romania, and Italy.
Victims: All over the map. But the report shows that the “average” complainant was a man between 30 and 40 living inCalifornia, Texas, Florida, or New York.
Individuals who reported losing money lost an average of $724; the highest losses involved Nigerian letter fraud, with a median loss of $5,100. Nearly 74 percent of the complaints said they were contacted through e-mail, and 36 percent complained of fraud through websites, highlighting the anonymous nature of the web.
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