According to the FBI, the United States has experienced an unprecedented increase in cyber attacks and malicious cyber activity.
In 2021 the scale of fraud and cyber attack reports hit an all time high. In a report released this week, the FBI received a record number of complaints from the American public: 847,376 reported complaints, which was a 7% increase from 2020, with potential losses exceeding $6.9 billion.
Fraud Has Nearly Doubled From Only 2 Years Ago
What is most concerning about the fraud report is the rapid increase year over year.
- In 2019, fraud reports increased 34% over the prior year.
- In 2020, fraud reports increased 70% over 2019
- And in 2021, fraud reports increased another 7% over 2020
Fraud reports have nearly doubled in the span of two years.
Losses reported to the FBI are on a tear too. Fraud losses have increased to over $6.9 billion in 2021, a significant increase of over 64% from 2020.
Losses are outpacing fraud reports and the average fraud report is increasing much faster than ever.
Business Email Compromise Account for 33% Of All Reports
In 2021, the FBI received 19,954 Business Email Compromise (BEC)/ Email Account Compromise (EAC) complaints with adjusted losses at nearly $2.4 billion.
BEC loses in 2021 increased over 27% over 2020 to reach its highest reported level in 2021
This accounted for close to 33% of all fraud losses reported to the FBI.
Romance Scams Also Increased Significantly in 2021
Romance scams saw a significant surge in 2021. In 2021, the FBI received reports from 24,299 victims who experienced more than $956 million in losses to Confidence Fraud/Romance scams. This type of fraud accounts for the third highest losses reported by victims.
In 2021, Romance Scam reports increased by close to 60% over the prior year.
Cryptocurrency Scam Losses Increased Seven-Fold
In 2021, the FBI received 34,202 complaints involving the use of some type of cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, or Ripple.
While that number showed a decrease from 2020’s victim count (35,229), the loss amount reported in FBI complaints increased nearly seven-fold, from 2020’s reported amount of $246,212,432, to total reported losses in 2021 of more than $1.6 billion.
Read the Full Report Here
You can read the full report here