In 2022, Americans lost $10.3 billion to various types of internet scams. According to an FBI report released very recently, $3.1 billion of that amount was suffered by senior citizens.
As indicated by the FBI’s annual report, the losses were the highest in five years. The bureau said that its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) lodged more than 2,000 complaints each day.
Top internet crimes
The most highly reported crimes were phishing expeditions, with 300,497 victims reporting over $52 million in losses. Data breaches and non-payment scams were the next most common internet scams, claiming 58,859 and 51,679 victims, respectively.
Call center scams, which emanate from India primarily, are responsible for over $1 billion in losses to victims.
“Call centers overwhelmingly target the elderly, with devastating effects,” the report says. “Almost half the victims report to be over 60 (46%), and experience 69% of the losses (over $724 million).”
In total, the elderly lost $3.1 billion to internet scams, the most of any age group.
Ransomware For Senior Citizens
Ransomware, a type of cyber intrusion which locks up a device’s data until a ransom is paid, is of particular concern for cybersecurity professionals due to the underreporting of ransomware attacks by victims. The FBI “received 2,385 complaints identified as ransomware with adjusted losses of more than $34.3 million,” according to its report.
By far, the most heavily targeted industry for ransomware attacks was the healthcare industry, followed by critical manufacturing’ and government and senior citizens are the main targets.
“The FBI does not encourage paying a ransom to criminal actors,” the report says. “Paying a ransom may embolden adversaries to target additional organizations, encourage other criminal actors to engage in the distribution of ransomware, and/or fund illicit activities. Paying the ransom also does not guarantee that a victim’s files will be recovered.”
Earlier this year, the Justice Department disrupted a ransomware gang called HIVE, which was responsible for 87 incidents targeting critical infrastructure.
The FBI urges victims of internet crime – wherever they may be located – to also report it to the IC3, because its Recovery Asset Team (RAT) may, in some cases, help the victim recover the stolen funds.
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