The IC3, which was set up in May 2000, received its 1 millionth complaint in June 2007. The second million arrived in less than half the time, illustrating the continued growth of cyber crime.
Ever since its inception, IC3 has referred 757,016 criminal complaints to law enforcement agencies worldwide. Most referrals involved fraud in which the complainant suffered a financial loss. Many other complaints involved identity theft, such as loss of personally identifying data and the unauthorized use of credit cards or bank accounts. The total reported loss from these referrals reached nearly USD 1.7 billion, with a median reported loss of more than USD 500 per complaint, the FBI reports.
According to figures released by IC3, in 2009 internet fraud cost businesses and consumers nearly USD 560 million, up from USD 264.6 million in total reported losses in 2008.
The IC3 receives, develops and refers cyber crime complaints to local, state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now