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FBI Reports All-Time High In Internet Fraud Losses
eldavojohn writes "While the number of cases dropped, the amount of money lost to internet fraud reached an all-time high in 2007, a new government report states. 'According to the 2007 Internet Crime Report, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 206,884 complaints of crimes perpetrated over the Internet during 2007. Of the complaints received, more than 90,000 were referred to law enforcement around the nation, amounting to nearly $240 million in reported losses. This represents a $40 million increase in reported losses from complaints referred to law enforcement in 2006.' The top ruses used by the fraudsters involved pets, romance and secret shoppers. The original report[Large PDF] is available online, and it contains some interesting graphs. One indicates that the two largest types of fraud are Auction Fraud and Non-delivery, which combine for over 60% of all cases. As Computerworld notes, men are more likely to fall for scams than women, and over 30% of losses are between $1,000 and $5,000. The report also contains data about the location of the perpetrators (Nigeria only accounts for 5.7%), age demographics, and contact methods."
Yes but to put it into perspective that still accounts for 60% of the GNP of Nigeria.
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*raises hand*
I bought Vista from an online retailer. The copy was completely legit, but I still felt scammed. And a little dirty.
I just knew it was those evil corporations all along. even when it was the criminals, i just KNEW somehow it was the corporations....
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....