$6.9 billion was lost to internet-enabled crimes in 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a new report.
The 2021 Internet Crime Report includes information from 847,376 complaints of suspected internet crime—a 7% increase from 2020—and reported losses exceeding $6.9 billion.
The FBI said in 2021, America experienced an unprecedented increase in cyber-attacks and malicious cyber activity.
Florida reported the eighth-most victims of these crimes, with 17,262 victims. California by far had the most with 67,095 people victimized by internet-enabled crimes.
The vast majority of crime types in this category across the United States was what the FBI categorized as phishing/vishing/smishing/pharming. This is defined as the use of unsolicited email, text messages, and telephone calls purportedly from a legitimate company requesting personal, financial, and/or login credentials
With the release of the 2021 Internet Crime Report, the FBI wants to remind the public to immediately report suspected criminal internet activity to the IC3 at ic3.gov. By reporting internet crime, victims are not only alerting law enforcement to the activity but aiding in the overall fight against cybercrime.
To read the full report from the FBI, click here.
