Fred Harteis Business Internet Fraud

Released on: Thursday, July 13, 2006 8:00 AM

Harteis Outlook: Internet Crime Complaints Up 12 Percent

by Fred Harteis

Complaints about online crime were up last year. The Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 231,000 complaints last year--up 12 percent from 2004. The Internet Crime Complaint Center also reported that most perpetrators--75 percent--and victims--64 percent--were men. Additionally, men lost far more money than women ($1.86 dollars lost by men for every $1 dollar lost by women).

The center referred almost half--around 97,000--to law enforcement authorities; almost all of the referrals concerned fraud. The cost of fraud appears to be rising. Last year, the total reached over $183 million--almost triple 2004's $68 million in losses.

Most Commonly Reported Frauds

1. 63% complaints filed stemmed from Web auctions.
2. 16% complaints filed stemmed from non-delivered merchandise or payment
3. 7 % of fraud complaints were related to credit card or debit card fraud

Even after all this time, the so-called "Nigerian letter" scam last year managed to bilk the marks who fell for it to the tune of $5,000, on average, according to a new report from the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Source: Internet Crime Complaint Center

About Fred Harteis, president Harteis International

        

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