Internet Crime Rises With Economic Downturn

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2010 — -- The volume of Internet crime has continued to rise steadily since 2007, with victims reporting $559 million in losses in 2009, a 110 percent increase compared to losses in 2008. Investigators and officials say part of the reason may be the economic downturn and a rise in investment and employment-opportunity scams.

Officials of the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, released their annual report on Iinternet crime Friday. It showed that 336,655 complaints were filed in 2009 -- a 22 percent increase over the number of complaints in 2008.

Total losses in 2008 were $264.6 million.

"There's been a higher percent of large-dollar cases." said John Kane, the research manager at the National White Collar Crime Center.

Noting the economic downturn, the report highlighted cases of unsolicited phone calls directing people to fraudulent Web sites to register for stimulus funds.

"The recorded voice message reportedly sounds very much like President Barrack Obama discussing alleged government funds available for those who apply," it said.

"Victims are warned that the offer is only available for a limited time and are instructed to visit the Web sites www.nevergiveitback.com or www.myfedmoney.com to receive their money. These sites require victims to enter personal identifying information after which they are directed to a second page to receive notification of eligibility."

Other scams that have increased include work-at-home scams where "victims fall prey to fraudulent postings for a variety of positions, ranging from personnel managers to secret shoppers. Victims are lured into providing the fraudster with personal identifying information with promises of above average hourly wages or several hundred dollars per week. Some victims are promised the hardware and/or software equipment needed to perform the job."

The scams are so intricate that victims are sometimes sent personal checks and money orders and are later asked to distribute a personal check from their bank account to a third party so the scammers can obtain banking information.

Of the 336,655 complaints filed in 2009, over 146,000 cases were referred to local, state, and federal law enforcement for potential investigations.