Reported Internet Fraud Soars in 2007: FBI

Americans reported $240 million in online fraud losses in 2007 to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an increase of $40 million from 2006, according to the FBI’s National White Collar Crime Center.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2007 received 206,884 complaints, of which 90,000 were referred to various law enforcement agencies, according to the FBI’s 2007 Internet Crime Report released last week.

"The Internet presents a wealth of opportunity for would-be criminals to prey on unsuspecting victims, and this report shows how extensive these types of crime have become," said FBI Cyber Division assistant director James E. Finch, in a statement. "What this report does not show is how often this type of activity goes unreported."

Median dollar loss in 2007 per complaint was $680, according to the FBI. Also, men lost on average $1.67 to every dollar women lost in online fraud last year, the FBI said.

Online auction fraud was the most-reported online crime last year, accounting for 35.7% of complaints, the FBI said. Non-delivery of goods or services was No. 2, accounting for 24.9% of complaints. So-called confidence scams accounted for 6.7% of complaints in 2007, credit-card fraud accounted for 6.3%, check fraud accounted for 6%, and computer fraud accounted for 5.3%.

Surprisingly given all the press attention they get, identity theft accounted for just 2.9% of all complaints and Nigerian letter fraud or 419 scams as they are also called, accounted for 1.1% of all reported online fraud, the FBI said.

The highest dollar loss per crime reported was from investment scams with a median loss of $3,547, the FBI reported. Check fraud was No. 2 at $3,000 and Nigerian letter fraud was No. 3 at $1,922, the FBI said.

Also, men were more often perpetrators and victims of online crime than women in 2007, with men accounting for 75.2% of reported perpetrators and 57.6% of all complainants, according to the report.

The median loss for men per complaint was $765 compared to women whose median loss was $552, the report said.

By far the state with the highest complainants per 100,000 people was Alaska, with 356. By comparison Colorado was No. 2 with 90 per 100,000 people, the report said.