More than $480 million was lost to Internet crimes in 2011, according to a May 11 report from the Internet Crime Complaint Center in Fairmont.
According to the IC3’s annual Internet Crime Report, 2011 marked the third year in a row that the organization received more than 300,000 complaints. The 314,246 complaints represent a 3.4 percent increase over 2010.
The reported dollar loss was $485.3 million.
The most common complaints received in 2011 included FBI-related scams — schemes in which a criminal poses as the FBI to defraud victims — as well as identity theft and advance-fee fraud.
The largest numbers of complaints came from California, followed by Florida and Texas. Reports from West Virginia represented 0.49 percent of the total.
California also topped losses, at more than $70 million; West Virginia losses came to $1.8 million.
“This report is a testament to the work we do every day at IC3, which is ensuring our system is used to alert authorities of suspected criminal and civil violations,” said NW3C Director Don Brackman. “Each year we work to provide information that can link individuals and groups to these crimes for better outcomes and prosecution of cases.”
IC3 is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
To report suspected Internet fraud, visit the Internet Crime Complaint Center’s website.