"Internet Crime Complaints Surge in 2020, Fueled By Pandemic"

According to the FBI, suspected internet crime complaints increased by 69% in 2020 compared to 2019 in the US.  Total complaints reached 791,790 last year, representing a rise of more than 300,000 compared to 2019.  This resulted in total recorded losses of more than $4.1bn to victims, as cyber-criminals took advantage of the shift to online services due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.  Researchers from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) found that business email compromise was the costliest scam technique employed.  The first most prominent form of internet crime reported was phishing, which surged from 114,702 complaints in 2019 to 241,342 in 2020. Phishing resulted in adjusted losses for victims of over $54m.  The second most prominent form of internet crime was non-payment/non-delivery scams, growing from 61,832 in 2019 to 108,869, resulting in losses of more than $265m. Extortion was the third most complained about internet crime last year, rising from 43,101 victims in 2019 to 76,741 in 2020. Total losses from extortion were recorded around $70m.

Infosecurity reports: "Internet Crime Complaints Surge in 2020, Fueled By Pandemic"