fraud

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2020 Internet Crime Report reveals sobering statistics about the prevalence of online fraud. During that year, the FBI received nearly 800,000 complaints — a year-over-year increase of more than 300,000 cases. Complainants reported financial losses totaling a whopping $4.2 billion. The trends indicate sharp rises in online crime, with phishing, […]

The first time I received one of those Nigerian email scams, I’d long since heard about the practice on the news. So I already knew the email was a complete scam. Turns out, my long lost “relative” Engineer J. Guy (nice fake name, there) hadn’t really died. Nor did he leave me all of his […]

When times are hard, those who prey on the financially stressed seem to multiple. Unfortunately, the current global economic situation has created a ripe breeding ground for credit card fraud. According to the Wall Street Journal, attempted credit card fraud was up 35% in April, in terms of dollar value. That compared to the same […]

Identity theft is a real and growing problem. In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) processed 1.4 million fraud reports totaling $1.48 billion in financial losses. According to the FTC, the most common type of fraud involved identity theft and credit cards. That doesn’t even include cases of honest mistakes, where you receive a bill […]