April 9

Internet Fraud Complaints
Tripled in 2002, FBI Reports

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Fraud on the Internet rose sharply in 2002, with the FBI reporting more than 48,000 complaints referred to prosecutors -- triple the number of the year before, according to a report from the Internet Fraud Complaint Center.

By far the most common complaint was auction fraud, followed by nondelivery of promised merchandise, credit-card fraud and fake investments, according to the report Wednesday from Internet Fraud Complaint Center, run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center, based in Richmond, Va.

The total dollar loss of Internet fraud reported to the center in 2002 was $54 million, compared with $17 million the year before. The 48,252 complaints referred for prosecution were far more than the 16,755 such complaints referred in 2001, but they still represent only a fraction of the crimes authorities believe are occurring.

The center also received almost 37,000 other complaints in 2002 that didn't constitute fraud but involved such things as unsolicited e-mail or spam, illegal child pornography and computer intrusions.

As more people do business on the Internet, fraud is expected to continue to increase, officials said. They also said the rise in complaints could stem from greater awareness of the Internet fraud center as a site for victims to fight back.

The center "helps victims by putting fraud information into the hands of law enforcement ... so these complaints are responded to quickly," said Jana Monroe, assistant FBI director in charge of the Cyber Division.

The report provides a glimpse into common types of fraud, its perpetrators and victims. For instance, almost 80% of known perpetrators are male and about 71% of those bringing complaints are also male.

Fraud complaints came from all over the U.S., with a third filed in highly populated California, Florida, Texas and New York. Complaints also came from Canada, Australia, Britain, Germany and Japan.

While online auction fraud accounted for 46% of complaints, the average amount lost in these cases was just $320. By comparison, victims of Internet identity theft averaged $2,000 in losses.