The FBI’s annual Internet Crime Complaint Center report reveals a surge in cybercrime, targeting older adults and cryptocurrency investors. Americans lost a record $16.6 billion to online scams last year, up from $12.5 billion in 2023. The figure may be an undercount, as only cases reported to the FBI are included. Over 859,000 complaints were filed, with more than 250,000 people reporting financial losses totaling $4.8 billion. Cryptocurrency-related scams accounted for $2.8 billion of these losses, while investment scams took $1.8 billion. Fake toll scams also resulted in significant losses, with $129,624 reported.
Source: https://www.newser.com/story/367578/scammers-cost-americans-nearly-17b-last-year.html