How much money did the US lose to cybercrime in 2024, and why are grandparent scams the latest trend? The FBI has all the answers.
Cybercrime is a pervasive threat that’s costing civilians in the United States and across the world billions.
The FBI has just released its annual Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) report, which shows the trends in cybercrime, financial losses, and victim reports for the year.
The US lost over $16 billion to cybercrime, which has risen 33% from the previous year.
The report reveals that victims commonly reported being primarily targeted through phishing or spoofing, extortion, and personal data breaches.
However, cybercriminals financially exploited their victims through investment fraud schemes, business email compromise, and tech support, as per the losses report.
Recent cybercrime trends: grandparent scams
The most prolific cybercrime trend reported the most losses ($1.9 billion) was call center scams.
These schemes involve cybercriminals posing as legitimate entities like banks to trick their victims into revealing personally identifiable information (PII).
This information may then be used to hijack victims' accounts, commit identity theft, or commit financial fraud.
Other trends included “grandparent scams,” which involve scammers impersonating family members or grandchildren and asking for money.
The FBI also warned of other schemes like toll scams and gold courier scams.
Top US states hit by cybercrime in 2024
Most of the complaints registered by the FBI came from California, Texas, and Florida.
The state that experienced the most financial losses ($2.5 billion) was California, with the second being Texas ($1.3 billion), and the third being Florida ($1 billion).
Age groups most affected by cybercrime in 2024
The age group that experienced the most losses was the over-60s group. Roughly 147,000 complaints were launched by this age group, and losses were almost $5 billion, compared to the under-20s' $22.5 million.
This may be due to the lack of internet literacy among older people, as the 20-29 age group might be more aware of cybercrime and how to prevent it.
How to prevent more cybercrime in 2025?
While cybercrime is still a pervasive threat, there are some ways that citizens can protect themselves from these threats.
Alongside reviewing materials from the IC3, people can protect themselves by being aware of threats and understanding how to deal with them.
In the age of artificial intelligence, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between a legitimate call or email and a fake one.
However, there are some tips you can take when unsure of what action to take:
- Be wary of links and avoid clicking on suspicious links.
- Make sure you’re not freely giving out your personal information to just anyone – for example, banks won’t ask you for PII over the phone.
- Keep your passwords and accounts protected – use multi-factor authentication.
- Be careful when accessing public Wi-Fi and don’t complete sensitive transactions on public Wi-Fi, says the FBI.
- Don’t transfer money to random people or organizations who urge immediate action.
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