Introduction
Now in its tenth year, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has become a vital resource for victims of online crime and for law enforcement investigating and prosecuting offenders.
In 2010, IC3 received the second-highest number of complaints since its inception. IC3 also reached a major milestone this year when it received its two-millionth complaint. On average, IC3 receives and processes 25,000 complaints per month.
The 2010 Internet Crime Report demonstrates how pervasive online crime has become, affecting people in all demographic groups. The report provides specific details about various crimes, their victims and the perpetrators. It also shows how IC3 continually adapts its methods to meet the needs of the public and law enforcement.
Internet Crime Trends
The IC3 experienced substantial growth in complaints, referrals, and dollar loss claims since 2000. In particular, there has been a significant increase in referrals in the two-year period since CMS and ICSIS were implemented in early 2009. Historically, auction fraud has been the leading complaint reported by victims, with a high of 71.2 percent of all referrals in 2004. However, in 2010, auction fraud represents slightly more than 10 percent of referrals. This demonstrates the growing diversification of crimes related to the Internet.
The age of those reporting crimes to IC3 is becoming more evenly distributed. Early in IC3’s history, the 30-39 age group represented the largest complainant reporting pool. Today, complainants 40-59 years old represent the two largest groups reporting crimes to IC3. However, historic trends indicate a continuing shift toward those in the 50-59 and 60-and-over category, which will further flatten the overall distribution of complainants. Those in the 60-and-over category account for the most dramatic rise in complaints over the entire 10 years. The gender gap in crime reporting has dramatically narrowed. Early in IC3’s history, men reported crime at a ratio of more than 2.5 to 1 over women. Today, men and women report crimes almost equally. In many states, a slightly higher proportion of women than men report crimes to IC3. The narrowed reporting gap between the sexes has significantly impacted the dollar loss between men and women over the last 10 years. During the course of IC3’s early history, men reported a loss of more than $2.00 for every $1.00 reported by a woman. According to the 2010 data, men now report a loss of $1.25 for every $1.00 reported by a woman.
General IC3 Filing Information
Complaints are submitted to IC3 at www.ic3.gov. The information is reviewed, categorized and, when appropriate, referred to local, state or federal law enforcement. All complaints are accessible to law enforcement and are used in trend analysis. These complaints help provide a basis for future outreach events and educational awareness programs.
Complaint Characteristics
During 2010, the non-delivery of payment or merchandise was the most reported offense, followed by FBI-related scams and identity theft.
