ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) —  Cyber crime complaints in the United States hit an all-time high in 2024 with more than 859,000 victims reporting internet scams. 

While that is a staggering number, what’s even more disturbing is how much they’re losing. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, Americans lost some $16.6 billion, which is up 33% from 2023.

The top moneymaker for the cyber crooks is investment scams. They also hit businesses hard with email compromise scams at $2.7 billion. 

One of the oldest scams in the books is still working. Tech support scams stole some $1.4 billion. In these scams, the crooks tell you by phone your computer has been hit with a virus, and they can fix it for you for free. Then they ask you to enter a string of code into the PC search bar. Do that, and they can control your computer, installing malware, stealing credit card information, and logging keystrokes.

Seniors are losing the most money to online scams, losing $2.5 billion last year. And that toll fee scam that’s hitting everyone’s smartphone? Victims combined to pay over $129,000 to the scammers. And that number is growing.

Also shocking, is a new scam that targets people who have already lost money to a scam. The caller says they’re with the FBI to help recover money the victim lost. Believing they’re getting the money back, the victims lose even more to a second scam.

The best defense? Slow down, verify everything, don’t click, don’t pay, and don’t share personal information.