The FBI released a report revealing that cybercriminals caused their victims to lose over US$ 16 billion in online scams in 2024.
This amount exceeds the reported figure of US$ 12.8 billion in 2023. The FBI’s document also detailed how most of the scams were considered “simple,” meaning they were not very sophisticated.
These include phishing scams, where the criminal impersonates a legitimate organization to steal the victims’ personal data; vishing, which is similar to phishing but usually occurs through a phone call or voicemail; and identity theft.
Among the most cited cyberattacks were those involving fake investors, where the criminal contacted the victim, supposedly seeking financial information and “management” of bank accounts, and corporate phishing aimed at forcing fraudulent transactions.
According to the FBI’s report, many victims also fell for scams involving fraudulent IT support and “fake romance” scams, where criminals pretended to be men or women looking for relationships, only to later extort their victims.
The crimes were recorded at the Internet Crime Complaint Center. In 2024, the agency recorded 840,000 complaints, but it is likely that the actual number was even higher.
A projection from Cybersecurity Ventures, for example, reveals that the true value may have been around US$ 8 trillion in 2023 and is expected to reach US$ 10.5 trillion by the end of 2025.
Photo and video: Unsplash. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
