"In 2020, while the American public was focused on protecting our families from a global pandemic and helping
others in need, cyber criminals took advantage of an opportunity to profit from our dependence on technology
to go on an Internet crime spree. These criminals used phishing, spoofing, extortion, and various types of
Internet-enabled fraud to target the most vulnerable in our society - medical workers searching for personal
protective equipment, families looking for information about stimulus checks to help pay bills, and many others.
Crimes of this type are just a small part of what the FBI combats through our criminal and cyber investigative
work. Key to our cyber mission is the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which provides the public with a
trustworthy source for information on cyber criminal activity, and a way for the public to report directly to us
when they suspect they are a victim of cyber crime.
IC3 received a record number of complaints from the American public in 2020: 791,790, with reported losses
exceeding $4.1 billion. Thisrepresents a 69% increase in total complaints from 2019. Business E-mail Compromise
(BEC) schemes continued to be the costliest: 19,369 complaints with an adjusted loss of approximately $1.8
billion. Phishing scams were also prominent: 241,342 complaints, with adjusted losses of over $54 million. The
number of ransomware incidents also continues to rise, with 2,474 incidents reported in 2020.
Public reporting is central to the mission and success of IC3. Submitting a cyber crime complaint to IC3.gov not
only helps the FBI address specific complaints—and provide support and assistance to victims —but also helps
us prevent additional crimes by finding and holding criminal actors accountable. Information reported to the IC3
helps the FBI better understand the motives of cyber-criminals, the evolving threat posed, and tactics utilized,
enabling us to most effectively work with partners to mitigate the damage to victims..."
Internet crime
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