Complaints of internet crime hit record in US

Complaints of internet crime hit record in US
By Joseph Menn in San Francisco
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: March 31 2009 00:32 | Last updated: March 31 2009 00:32
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e160f504-1d76-11de-9eb3-00144feabdc0.html


Victims of internet crime filed 33 per cent more complaints in the US last year than the year before, signally that electronic fraud is being exasperated by the economic crisis.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center, which tracks trends and refers cases to law enforcement agencies for investigation, said on Monday that it processed a record 275,284 complaints last year.

The number filed each month grew as the year progressed and the economy deteriorated. October, November and December were three of the worst five months.

The most frequent complaints – some 33 per cent – were over electronic correspondents failing to deliver promised goods or failing to pay for goods they received. Auction fraud at sites such as Ebay and Craigslist drove another 25 per cent of the cases.

“Anecdotally, there’s some indication that the economy is a factor,” said spokesman Paul Bresson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which helps run the Complaint Center.

Harder times might tempt more unemployed to turn to crime, and they can also provide more subtle support for an upward trend. Budget-conscious consumers look harder for bargains, falling for more too-good-to-be-true offers.

The spike could also derive in part from increased consumer awareness of the Complaint Center and referral links on web pages hosted by Ebay and other companies.

Those seeking work can become victims when they are hired to process funds by crooks who drain their bank accounts. Another popular trick involves apparent overpayments to new landlords or sellers, who are instructed to return some of the money before learning that the original cheque is no good.

The total loss of victims filed at the complaint centre reached another record, $265m – up from $239m in 2007. Victims of cheque fraud lost the most, a median of $3,000.

Reports to the Complaint Center provide only a partial picture. Only about one in seven fraud cases get reported anywhere, and many victims who do complain go to police or other officials instead of to the nine-year-old centre.