The FBI has reported a staggering $16.6 billion in losses due to cybercrime in 2024, representing a 33% increase from the previous year. According to the bureau’s annual Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) report, the center received 859,532 complaints throughout the year, with 256,256 of these complaints resulting in actual financial losses averaging $19,372 per incident. The data highlights the growing threat posed by cybercriminals, particularly to vulnerable populations.
Among those affected, older Americans, specifically individuals aged 60 and over, were the hardest hit. This demographic filed 147,127 complaints related to significant losses amounting to approximately $4.8 billion. B. Chad Yarbrough, the FBI’s Operations Director for Criminal and Cyber, stated, “Last year saw a new record for losses reported to IC3, totaling a staggering $16.6 billion. Fraud represented the bulk of reported losses in 2024, and ransomware was again the most pervasive threat to critical infrastructure, with complaints rising 9% from 2023.”
IC3 has noted that since its establishment, it has received over 9 million complaints regarding malicious online activity. Initially, the center averaged around 2,000 complaints per month, a number that has ballooned to more than 2,000 complaints daily in recent years. Over the previous five years alone, IC3 recorded 4.2 million complaints that are linked to losses totaling $50.5 billion.
While these figures paint a troubling picture of the state of cybercrime, it is important to recognize that they reflect only known cases reported to law enforcement or directly by victims. This means the actual financial impact of cybercrime is likely much higher, as many incidents go undetected or unreported. IC3’s report emphasizes that reported ransomware losses only account for ransom payments and do not reflect the myriad other costs incurred by businesses, such as loss of operational time, wages, or damages to equipment and data recovery processes.
Recently, the FBI issued a public service announcement warning that scammers are impersonating IC3 employees, attempting to deceive victims of cybercrime into believing they can help recover funds lost to fraud. Victims are urged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities.