On May 7th, 2018, The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released it's 2017 Internet Crime Report which details criminal activity seen on the internet in 2017 as well as outlining the internet crime trends that popped up during the year. An FBI.gov press release describes the report as such:
The IC3 2017 Internet Crime Report contains information about the IC3, an explanation of the support provided to law enforcement by the IC3, and hot topics for 2017, including business e-mail compromise, ransomware, tech support fraud, and extortion.
It is easy to see from the data that internet crime is on the rise, almost doubling with respect to lost revenue since 2013. It is interesting that the number of reported incidents has only increased roughly 13% over the same time period. So while the number of reported attacks is not increasing dramatically, the damage per attack is increasing.
The report layed out a few hot topics for the year.
Business Email Compromise - Business Email Compromise accounted for 15,690 complaints to the IC3 with losses equalling $675 million in 2017. This scam takes many forms, but usually involves spoofing the email address of a VIP in an organization, often the CEO or CFO. The scammer impersonates the VIP and requests unauthorized transfer of funds by lower ranking individuals within the organization.
Ransomware - Ransomware accounted for 1,783 complaints to the IC3 with losses equalling $2.3 million in 2017. Ransomware is software that an attacker installs on your computer. Once it is installed, it starts to encrypt your files and alerts the user that the only way to decrypt the files is to pay a ransom. Usually, the attacker requests bitcoin or some othe cryptocurrency. I am very suprprised to see such small numbers in this category on the IC3 report since Ransomware was all the rage in 2017. I haven't seen final numbers, but total losses from ransomware were expected to eclipse $5 billion in 2017.
Tech Support Fraud - Tech Support Fraud accounted for 10,949 complaints to the IC3 with losses equalling $15 million in 2017. This scam involves an attacker posing as tech support as a ruse to gain access to a users devices.
Elder Justice Initiative - Elderly people are often the target of internet based attacks. In 2017 there wer 49,523 complaints by victims over the age of 60 to the IC3 with losses equalling $342 million. The Elder Justice Initiative is a new effort to protect the elderly from these types of crimes.
Extortion - Extortion accounted for 14,938 complaints to the IC3 with losses equalling $15 million in 2017. These attacks involve the threat of violence, financial harm, or release of sensitive data if the victim doesn't pay the attacker.
Here is the chart showing the crimes with the highest number of reported incidents:
Here is the chart showing the crimes with the highest reported monetary losses:
If you are a victim of internet crime, you can report the incident on the IC3 website. Here is a video on how to report an incident.
