FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center Releases 2006 Statistics

When it comes to crime, the Internet is like a Swiss Army knife -- a multi-purpose tool that's easy to use and highly versatile. That's made crystal clear by the 2006 annual report (PDF) just issued by the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which shows how criminals used the Internet to launch nine different varieties of fraud alone.

From January 1 through December 31, 2006, the center received 207,492 complaint submissions. These filings were composed of fraudulent and non-fraudulent complaints primarily related to the Internet and included many different fraud types to include auction fraud, non-delivery, and credit/debit card fraud, as well as non-fraudulent complaints, such as computer intrusions, spam/unsolicited e-mail, and child pornography.

"This report demonstrates how widespread and sophisticated internet crime has become," said Cyber Division Assistant Director James E. Finch. "The FBI remains committed to working with our partners in both law enforcement and in the private business sector to help investigate and combat these types of crimes."

Among the highlights from the report:

• 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 in California, 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 Web sites, highlighting the anonymous nature of the Web.