The 2018 Internet Crime Report emphasizes the IC3’s efforts in monitoring trending scams such as Business Email Compromise (BEC), Extortion, Tech Support Fraud, and Payroll Diversion. In 2018, IC3 received a total of 351,936 complaints with losses exceeding $2.7 Billion.

This past year, the most prevalent crime types reported by victims were Non-Payment/Non-Delivery, Extortion, and Personal Data Breach. The top three crime types with the highest reported loss were BEC, Confidence/Romance fraud, and Non-Payment/Non-Delivery.

In February 2018, the IC3 established the Recovery Asset Team (RAT) to assist in the recovery of funds for victims involved in BEC schemes by streamlining communications to financial Institutions. The RAT works within the Domestic Financial Fraud Kill Chain (DFFKC) to recover fraudulent funds wired by victims. The DFFKC is a partnership between law enforcement and financial entities. In 2018, the IC3 RAT notified 56 field offices and 12 Legal Attachés of 1,061 DFFKC’s totaling $257,096,992, a recovery rate of 75%.

Another new asset of the IC3 was the creation of the Victim Specialists-Internet Crimes (VSIC) position. The VSIC contact victims of internet crimes, provide crisis intervention, conduct needs assessments, and refer victims to resources and referrals when appropriate. This new position is designed to ensure timely support and services are provided to victims to prevent further victimization and to engage the recovery process as quickly as possible. These positions also lead to a greater coordination of services with the victim’s local field office Victim Specialist.

Read the full PDF report here.