In April, the FBI released its annual Internet Crime Report, evaluating all complaints logged via its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The Bureau’s analysis revealed that losses connected to cybercrime complaints reached $12.5 billion in 2023. This figure represents a $2 billion increase from the previous year and more than triple the amount recorded in 2019, even though the number of complaints has not doubled in comparison to four years prior.
As illustrated in the accompanying chart from Statista, based on data from the report, reported cybercrime losses have increased significantly from 2021 onwards. While 2021 saw a year-over-year increase of roughly $700 million despite a surge in complaints, the jump in losses from 2021 to 2022 was markedly more pronounced. This trend suggests that criminals were able to extract larger sums of money per breach.
The majority of funds were lost due to investment fraud and hacked business email addresses. These two attack vectors accounted for around 60 percent of all reported stolen money. Although these figures are substantial, the actual numbers may be much higher since the FBI only analyzes cases reported through its platform.
The data also shows a clear bias in geographical distribution. The United States filed 521,652 complaints, while the United Kingdom filed 288,355. In the U.S., most complaints originated in California, Texas, and Florida. California also ranked first in terms of money lost, with $2.1 billion, representing 17 percent of the reported worldwide total. Besides the U.S. and the UK, Canada (6,601), India (3,405), and Nigeria (1,779) had the highest complaint prevalence.
The rising financial impact of cybercrime underscores the need for enhanced security measures and greater awareness to combat these threats effectively.