cybercrime
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has released the 2023 Internet Crime Report, which is based on internet crimes reported to the IC3. In 2023, as in 2022, phishing/spoofing was the top crime reported, and investment scams were the most financially damaging. The IC3 received a record 880,418 complaints with associated record losses of more than $12.5 billion, up 10% and 22% respectively from 2022. Keep in mind that these are only reported numbers and just from the American public. 2023 Internet Crime Overview Business Email Compromise: There were 21,489 BEC reports with over $2.9 billion in losses. The IC3 notes a trend of criminals using financial custodial accounts for crypto exchanges, third-party processors and phishing. Investment Fraud: The losses from investment scams increased from $3.31 billion in 2022 to $4.57 billion in 2023. With this 38% increase, investment fraud became the crime with the heaviest reported losses. Cryptocurrency
Ransomware, Act I The first documented ransomware attack was delivered by the postal service in 1989 when 20,000 floppy discs loaded with malware were sent to AIDS researchers across the globe with the promise of advancing research. When loaded in computers, the discs installed malware and displayed a ransomware message demanding payment to restore data and systems. The attacker, an AIDS researcher himself, took advantage of other researchers to capitalize on the urgency and uncertainty of the AIDS epidemic. Cybercriminals continue to employ similar scare tactics today, using coercion, matters of necessity and social engineering to dupe unsuspecting people. Instead of using snail mail, cybercriminals use unprotected domains to send spoofed emails for deploying ransomware. What is Ransomware? The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) defines ransomware as a type of malware “cyber actors use to deny access to systems or data. The malicious cyber actor holds systems or data
Investment Scams Costliest The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has released the 2022 Internet Crime Report, which is based on internet crimes reported to the IC3. Phishing continues to be the top crime reported, and investment scams were the most financially damaging. Though the IC3 received five percent fewer complaints in 2022 the total loss ballooned from $6.9 billion in 2021 to over $10.2 billion in 2022. By the Numbers – 2022 FBI Internet Crime Report Internet Crime Overview BEC: There were 21,832 BEC complaints with a loss of over $2.7 billion. BEC exploits target organizations and individuals in an effort to redirect funds to fraudulent accounts. Investment Scams: For the first time since the FBI has issued the Internet Crime Report, investment fraud was the costliest crime with losses coming in at $3.31 billion; in 2021, losses were $1.45 billion. There was an unprecedented increase in crypto-investment extortion
Because of the accessibility of email, we’ve seen increased abuse that has become more sophisticated over the years. Business email compromise (BEC) attacks cost organizations an estimated $2.4 billion in losses in 2021 in the US alone. The post What is Business Email Compromise (BEC)? appeared first on dmarcian.