Internet fraud is alive and well, and it’s costing victims thousands of dollars. In fact, the FBI’s Internet Crime Compliant Center (IC3) received a record 847,376 complaints of online fraud in 2021, with $6.9 billion in estimated losses—that’s an average of over 2,300 per day at around $8,100 per person.
Anyone can become a victim of online crime, but older adults tend to be more at risk. According to the IC3, nearly 40% of all internet crime victims are over the age of 50. Sadly, this group also reports the greatest number of victims who lose more than $100,000.
We don’t expect you or your loved ones to unplug from the internet, but we do want you to stay safe online. So familiarize yourself with these common internet scams and the proactive measures you can take to avoid them.