FBI’s 2024 Report: Billions Lost to Cyber Scams! ¡Oye!

Okay, friends, let’s talk about the cyber world and the bad guys. The FBI, you know, the big guys in suits, they released their report for 2024 about internet crime. It’s from their Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3. This place started small, just for police, but now, everyone goes there to report scams and cyber problems. It’s been 25 years, and things have changed, mucho.

The Big Numbers: Scary Stuff, Compañeros

Listen to this, it’s serious. In 2024, the IC3 got almost 860,000 complaints. And the money lost? A tremendo $16.6 billion!. That’s 33% more money lost than in 2023. ¡Ay Dios mío! The average person who lost money lost over $19,000. This shows the cibercriminales are getting better, or maybe just bolder.

Who is Losing Money?

The report breaks it down by age. Guess who lost the most? Our abuelos and abuelas, people over 60 years old. They filed the most complaints, over 147,000, and lost the most money, about $4.8 billion. This is very sad, they target the viejitos. But younger people lose money too. People 50-59 lost $2.5 billion, 40-49 lost $2.2 billion, and 30-39 lost $1.4 billion. Even kids under 20 lost $22.5 million. Nobody is safe.

What Kind of Scams are Happening?

The biggest problems reported are:

Investment Scams: This is the big one for money lost. Over $6.5 billion!. This includes the “pig butchering” scam, where they pretend to be your friend or lover and trick you into fake crypto investments. Very bad.
Business Email Compromise (BEC): Almost $2.8 billion lost. This is when they hack emails or trick businesses into sending money to the wrong place. Very sophisticated.
Tech Support Scams: $1.46 billion lost. They pretend to be Microsoft or Apple and say your computer has a virus. They scare people, especially older people, into paying or giving access.
Personal Data Breach: $1.45 billion lost. This is when your personal info gets stolen from somewhere.
Phishing/Spoofing: This had the most complaints, over 193,000. But the money lost reported was lower, about $70 million. These are the fake emails and texts trying to steal your passwords.
Extortion: Lots of complaints here too, over 86,000. They threaten to release private info or photos unless you pay, sometimes with crypto.

Cryptocurrency: The New Tool for Bad Guys

Cryptocurrency is involved in a lot of this crime. Almost $9.3 billion in losses were linked to crypto in 2024. That’s a 66% increase from the year before! Investment fraud is the biggest crypto problem, but it’s also used in tech support scams, romance scams, and extortion. They even trick people into using Crypto ATMs.

What is the FBI Doing?

The good news? The FBI is fighting back. Their Recovery Asset Team (RAT) helped freeze over $561 million in stolen money in 2024 through something called the Financial Fraud Kill Chain. They work fast with banks to stop the money. They also had “Operation Level Up” which warned thousands of people they were victims of crypto investment scams, saving maybe $285 million. They work with police in other countries too, like India, to shut down scam call centers. They also take down big ransomware groups like LockBit.

What Should You Do?

This report is a wake-up call. The cibercriminales are out there, and they want your money and your data.

Be careful with emails, links, and phone calls. Verify everything.
Be suspicious of investment opportunities that seem too good.
Protect your personal information.
Talk to your family, especially older relatives, about these scams.

Most important: If you think you are a victim, report it! Tell the FBI through the IC3 website (www.ic3.gov). Your report helps them catch the bad guys and stop others from becoming victims. Even if you feel embarrassed, report it. It’s the only way we fight back together.

Stay safe out there, mi gente. The internet is amazing, but we must be smart.

IC3 Report: https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2024_IC3Report.pdf