2021 was a terrible year for cybercrime, with people reportedly losing almost $7 billion to online attacks, scams and hacks. Cyber-crimes have been on the rise over the years and reached a crescendo during the pandemic, with several massive data breaches and cyber-attacks affecting not only some of the largest companies worldwide but even the most sophisticated investigative agencies like the FBI.
While most cybercrimes are targeted at large companies, many scammers and hackers also prey on innocent individuals. Phishing has emerged as one of the leading forms of cyber-attack, with Microsoft last year uncovering a massive operation called BulletProofLink that offers phishing-as-a-service, or PhaaS. Cryptocurrency scams and ransomware attacks have also been on the rise, with numerous cases coming to light recently.
According to the FBI's 2021 Internet Crime Report, last year saw 847,376 complaints of suspected internet crime — an all-time high. Overall, the losses amounted to $6.9 billion — a significant increase over the previous year, when there were 791,790 complaints and $4.2 billion in total losses. Over the past five years, there have been 2.76 million complaints and $18.7 billion in combined losses for victims. The top three cyber-crimes reported last year were phishing scams, non-payment/non-delivery and personal data breaches. Identity theft and extortion were also among the most preferred ways for cyber-criminals to earn money, although the latter saw a significant dip over the previous year.
Cybercrime In 2021
Let's break down the numbers, starting with the heaviest monetary losses coming from compromised email accounts, which resulted in losses amounting to more than $2.3 billion. Next, investment scams and fraud were the second-most popular category for cyber-criminals, accounting for nearly $1.5 billion in total losses. Romance scams and confidence frauds came in number three, while personal data breaches were the fourth-largest type of cyber-attack, resulting in the loss of more than $500 million. Finally, real estate scams came in at number five, while good-old tech support scams, which are still going strong after all these years, came in at number six.
Cyber-criminals also used another new-age craze to target unsuspecting victims — cryptocurrencies. In 2021, the FBI received 34,202 complaints of possible cryptocurrency scams involving various types of digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple. The number itself is marginally down from 2020 when there were 35,229 complaints about crypto-related scams. However, the total losses from crypto scams in 2021 increased nearly seven-fold over the previous year, peaking at $1.6 billion. In addition, losses due to ransomware attacks also rose significantly, with 3,729 complaints and adjusted losses of more than $49.2 million. With more businesses shifting online, cybercrimes are only expected to increase going forward.
Source: FBI