Cybercriminals were quite successful in duping people and businesses in D.C., Maryland and Virginia last year, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The FBI’s 2024 internet Crime Report found that the two states and the nation’s capital lost a combined $848 million.
Nationwide, $16.6 billion was scammed from people who lost money looking to get involved in phony investments to those whose heart strings were tugged at in romance schemes.
Maryland, Virginia and D.C. ranked in the top 20 for losses overall, with Maryland losses totaling $239 million, Virginia $317 million and D.C. $292 million.
California did the worst nationwide, with overall losses of $833 million.
In D.C., for every 100,000 people living in the city, businesses and individuals lost around $41 million.
The FBI said its internet crime complaint center received more 860,000 complaints last year and saw an increase in losses of 33% over 2023.
By age group, the older the demographics, more complaints came in and more money was lost. Those over 60 years old reported the most scams with 147,127 and also lost the most money, totaling $4.8 billion. In fact, this demographic saw a 43% increase in losses over 2023.
People lost the most nationwide in investment schemes — to the tune of $6.5 billion. Complaints about investment schemes have continued to rise over previous years.
Compromised emails cost businesses and individuals $2.7 billion, tech support scams $1.6 billion, personal data breaches cost people $1.5 billion and non-payment/non-delivery schemes rounded out the top five at $785 million according to the FBI.
Romance schemes came in sixth, and government impersonation schemes rose to $406 million in the latest report. Both these areas could be seeing a rise due to more use of artificial intelligence in schemes.
When it comes to complaints, the FBI is also seeing a rise in reported cases of extortion and identity theft. Also, Phishing and spoofing complaints have seen a meteoric rise, going from 2,856 cases reported in 2023 to 23,252 reported in 2024.
You can report cyber schemes you see or lost money to at the FBI’s internet Crime Complaint Center.
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