The 2024 IC3 Report: Record Cybercrime Losses Highlight Escalating Digital Threats

The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and with it, the tactics employed by cybercriminals. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) serves as the nation's primary hub for reporting cyber-enabled crime and fraud by the public. Now in its 25th year, the IC3 has published its 2024 Annual Report, revealing a stark picture of the growing threat: a new record has been set for reported losses, totaling a staggering $16.6 billion. This represents a 33 percent increase in losses from 2023.

The report, built on over 9 million complaints received since IC3's founding in 2000, provides critical insights into the scale and nature of cybercrime impacting Americans. In 2024 alone, IC3 received 859,532 complaints. While not every complaint involves a quantifiable loss, 256,256 complaints did report an actual loss. The average reported loss per complaint was $19,372.

The Most Impactful Cybercrimes by Financial Loss

Cyber-enabled fraud, defined as criminal activity using the Internet or technology for fraudulent purposes like theft of money, data, or identity, accounted for almost 83% of all losses reported to IC3 in 2024. The report breaks down these losses by crime type, highlighting those with the most significant financial impact:

• Investment Fraud topped the list with losses totaling $6.57 billion.
• Business Email Compromise (BEC) accounted for $2.77 billion in reported losses. BEC targets businesses or individuals involved in wire transfers, often compromising email accounts through social engineering or intrusion to facilitate unauthorized fund transfers.
• Tech Support scams resulted in $1.46 billion in losses. These scams involve subjects impersonating technical or customer support.
• Personal Data Breach losses were also substantial, reaching $1.45 billion. This involves the release of personal data from a secure location or a security incident where sensitive data is accessed or stolen by unauthorized individuals.

Collectively, Investment fraud, BEC, and Tech Support scams are responsible for the majority of reported losses. Other significant loss categories include Non-Payment/Non-Delivery ($785 million), Confidence/Romance scams ($672 million), and Government Impersonation ($405 million).

The Rising Tide of Cryptocurrency-Related Losses

A major factor contributing to the record losses is the increasing use of cryptocurrency, which has become an "enticing means to cheat investors, launder proceeds, and engage in other illicit schemes". Cryptocurrency was referenced as a descriptor in 149,686 complaints in 2024. The losses associated with complaints referencing cryptocurrency were a staggering $9.3 billion, marking a 66% increase in losses from the previous year in this category.

Investment fraud is the crime type most associated with cryptocurrency, accounting for the largest portion of cryptocurrency-related losses at $5.8 billion. Personal Data Breach ($1.12 billion) and Tech Support ($962 million) also had significant losses where cryptocurrency was referenced.

Impact on Vulnerable Populations: Seniors Hit Hardest

The report emphasizes the disproportionate impact of cybercrime on older adults. Individuals over the age of 60 suffered the most losses and submitted the most complaints in 2024. This age group reported 147,127 complaints with total losses reaching $4.885 billion. This represents a concerning 43% increase in losses from 2023 for the 60+ demographic.

For individuals aged 60 and over, the crime types resulting in the highest reported losses were:

• Investment fraud ($1.834 billion).
• Tech Support scams ($982 million).
• Confidence/Romance scams ($389 million).
• Business Email Compromise ($385 million).

Notably, cryptocurrency was referenced in 33,369 complaints from the 60+ age group, associated with over $2.8 billion in losses. This highlights how modern tools like cryptocurrency are being exploited to target traditional vulnerable populations. The report states that 7,500 complainants over 60 lost over $100,000, with an average loss of $83,000 for this group in 2024.

Cyber Threats

Beyond cyber-enabled fraud, IC3 also tracks cyber threats like ransomware, malware, and data breaches. In 2024, IC3 received 263,455 complaints related to cyber threats, totaling $1.571 billion in losses. Ransomware, despite representing a smaller portion of overall losses compared to fraud ($12.47 million in reported losses), remains the most pervasive threat to critical infrastructure, with complaints rising 9% from 2023. The most reported ransomware variants to IC3 in 2024 were Akira, LockBit, RansomHub, FOG, and PLAY.

IC3's Role and Positive Impacts

The IC3 plays a vital role in combating cybercrime through its core functions: Collection, Analysis, Public Awareness, and Referrals. By aggregating complaint data, IC3 can connect complaints, investigate crimes, track trends, alert the public, and refer information to law enforcement partners.

The report highlights several successful initiatives:

• The IC3 Recovery Asset Team (RAT): Established in 2018, the RAT streamlines communication with financial institutions and FBI field offices to assist in freezing funds for victims of fraudulent domestic and international transactions using the Financial Fraud Kill Chain (FFKC). The FFKC process can be initiated for BEC, Tech Support Fraud, Romance Scams, and Data Breaches. In 2024, the IC3 RAT attempted to recover funds in 3,020 complaints totaling $848.4 million, demonstrating a 66% success rate in freezing funds. Successful examples include freezing over $955,000 in a real estate BEC scam and freezing $5.1 million out of a $6.6 million BEC incident referred by LEGAT Singapore.
• Operation Level Up: Launched in January 2024, this operation specifically targeted victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud (also known as "pig butchering" scams, where perpetrators build a relationship before introducing a fraudulent investment opportunity). Utilizing IC3 data, Operation Level Up notified 4,323 victims, finding that 76% were unaware they were being scammed. This initiative resulted in an estimated savings to victims of $285.6 million. The operation also referred 42 victims for suicide intervention.
• International Collaboration: The report notes successful collaboration with law enforcement in India to combat transnational call center fraud, resulting in significant raids, disruptions, seizures, and arrests in 2024. FBI enabled over 215 arrests through 11 joint operations with the CBI in 2024, a 700% increase from 2023.
• Malware Disruptions: The FBI also disrupted cybercriminal infrastructure, such as seizing domains used to sell the Warzone RAT malware.

Fighting Back: The Importance of Reporting

The record losses underscore the growing sophistication and prevalence of cybercrime. The FBI stresses that reporting to IC3 is crucial. Without the information submitted by the public, law enforcement cannot effectively piece together the threat landscape, identify trends, or initiate actions like freezing funds.

IC3 also serves a public awareness function, publishing annual reports and routine intelligence reports. They provide educational materials and public service announcements to help individuals and businesses recognize and avoid scams. Common scam techniques often involve social engineering, impersonation, and leveraging new technologies like cryptocurrency.

Conclusion

The 2024 IC3 Annual Report provides a sobering look at the financial impact of cybercrime, demonstrating a significant escalation in reported losses driven by investment fraud and the increasing use of cryptocurrency. The report highlights the particular vulnerability of older adults and the devastating financial consequences they face. However, it also showcases the critical work of the IC3 and its partners in collecting data, analyzing threats, recovering funds, and bringing criminals to justice. By understanding these trends and reporting suspicious activity to IC3, individuals and organizations play a vital role in combating cybercrime and helping the FBI protect others.