Monday, March 15, 2010

US Internet Fraud Tops Half A Billion Dollars, Says FBI

eWeek Europe reports on the newly released IC3 report which revealed that online fraud in 2009 spiked to more than half a billion dollars, more than doubling the total losses of 2008.   There is a solution.  The world's only PCI 2.0 Certified PIN Entry Device designed specifically for online banking and eCommerce transactions.  I'm waiting on the US numbers, but the UK numbers are in:



UK "Card Not Present" Fraud Responsible for 86.6% of Total



Using simple deductive reasoning, we can logically conclude that almost 87% of the problem (Card Not Present Fraud) can be instantly eliminated by swiping vs. typing.   So, what are we waiting for?







A new report from the Internet Crime Complaint Centre found the amount of losses from cyber-crime doubled in 2009, with those between the ages of 30-49 hardest hit


Last year was a banner year for US, as well as UK cybercrime.



According to figures from the Internet Crime Complaint Centre, online fraud in 2009 cost the American public $559.7 million (£372 million) – more than double the $265 million (£176 million) stolen in 2008. These figures, according to the report, are based on crimes reported to law enforcement, meaning the actual amount could be much greater.





The Internet Crime Complaint Centre (IC3), a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Centre (NW3C), released the numbers as part of its 2009 Annual Report about cyber-crime. The group received a total of 336,655 online crime complaints for the year, an increase of more than 20 percent from 2008. The complaints covered a lot of ground, including email scams that used the FBI’s name – the largest category of complaints IC3 received - as well as scams involving the non-delivery of merchandise and/or payment.



Late last year, IC3 released a warning from the FBI that malware and phishing schemes targeting online bankers had led to a significant increase in Automated Clearing House (ACH) fraud. The scams were claiming many small and midsize businesses among their victims, as well as court systems, schools and other public institutions, authorities said.




“The figures contained in this report indicate that criminals are continuing to take full advantage of the anonymity afforded them by the Internet,” NW3C director, Donald Brackman said in a statement. “They are also developing increasingly sophisticated means of defrauding unsuspecting consumers. Internet crime is evolving in ways we couldn’t have imagined just five years ago.”




Continue Reading at eWeek Europe 




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