NC residents lose $137 million to online crimes, FBI says. How to protect your money
North Carolina is among the top states for money lost to online crimes, according to data released this month.
The scams cost North Carolina residents $137 million, making the state the fifth highest for losses, the FBI says in its 2018 Internet Crimes Report. The prior year, North Carolina ranked 17th, according to the agency.
Nationally, “the top three crime types with the highest reported loss” were: compromised business email, “romance fraud” and non-payment or non-delivery of goods, according to the report.
North Carolina also ranks in the top half of the country for money earned for a state destination, number of victims and number of “subjects,” or people carrying out online crimes, according to the FBI.
The figures come after a total of $2.7 billion in losses across the country were reported to the FBI Internet Complaint Center last year, according to a news release.
To avoid internet scams, the FBI encourages people to have updated antivirus software and operating systems on computers. Internet users should also turn on firewalls and download with caution, the agency says.
People are advised to “immediately report” online activity that may be illegal, according to the FBI.
“By reporting Internet crime, victims are not only alerting law enforcement to the activity, but aiding in the overall fight against cybercrime,” the release said.
The FBI says it has recently monitored “trending scams” and helped people recover millions of dollars.
This story was originally published April 29, 2019 at 3:55 PM.
