American public lost $4.1 Billion in 2020 due to Cybercrimes
FBI Cybercrime report for 2020 states that American public reportedly loss in excess of $4.1 billion. Phishing scams were the most prominent complaints, with adjusted losses of over $54 million
Phishing exercise and Security Awareness Training reduces organization risk
Why do you need to train employees on phishing techniques?
While most of us are working from home and kids are attending school virtually in 2020, cyber criminals took advantage of an opportunity to profit from our dependence on technology to go on an Internet crime spree.
The American public was focused on protecting our families from a global pandemic and helping others in need, these criminals used phishing, spoofing, extortion, and various types of Internet-enabled fraud to target the most vulnerable in our society – medical workers searching for personal protective equipment, families looking for information about stimulus checks to help pay bills, and many others.
Crimes of this type are just a small part of what the FBI combats through our criminal and cyber investigative work. Key to the cyber mission is the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which provides the public with a trustworthy source for information on cybercriminal activity, and a way for the public to report directly to us when they suspect they are a victim of cybercrime.
IC3 received a record number of complaints from the American public in 2020: 791,790, with reported losses exceeding $4.1 billion. This represents a 69% increase in total complaints from 2019. Business E-mail Compromise (BEC) schemes continued to be the costliest: 19,369 complaints with an adjusted loss of approximately $1.8 billion.
Phishing scams were also prominent: 241,342 complaints, with adjusted losses of over $54 million. The number of ransomware incidents also continues to rise, with 2,474 incidents reported in 2020. Public reporting is central to the mission and success of IC3.
Fraudsters took the opportunity to exploit the pandemic to target both business and individuals. In 2020, the IC3 received over 28,500 complaints related to COVID-19. Fraudsters targeted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which included provisions to help small businesses during the pandemic. The IC3 received thousands of complaints reporting emerging financial crime revolving around CARES Act stimulus funds, specifically targeting unemployment insurance, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and Small Business Economic Injury Disaster Loans, as well as other COVID-related fraud.
Custom Cybersecurity Solutions provide regular ‘Email Phishing Exercises’ and ‘Security Awareness Training’ for small and medium sized businesses. We setup, configure, and run the whole campaign for your organization for a very low monthly fee. The monthly reporting feature provides a snapshot of how your employees are reacting to ‘phishing emails’. Contact us for a ‘no-obligation’ consultation.