Internet crime is on the rise again according to a report recently released by The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The organization said last week that it received the second-highest number of complaints in its decade long history in 2010.
Released on February 24, the 2010 Internet Crime Report (.PDF) counted 303,809 complaints of Internet crime over the course of the year, down from 2009’s all-time high of 336,655. Nearly 15% of complaints came regarding non-delivery of payment or merchandise, while scams and identity theft rounded out the top three complaints with 13% and 10% respectively.
Cybercriminals are also having success targeting an older demographic than in the past. Complaints from last year came predominantly from the 40-59 year old bracket this year. In the early 2000s,
the average age usually fell across the 30-39 age group, IC3 said.
When it came to gender, the IC3 saw even more Internet crime reports coming from males in 2010 as statistics in the report found men reported crime 2.5 to 1 over women.
The heightened complaint numbers over the last several years could be credited to two recent adjustments by the IC3. In 2010 the group added remote access to their database via a Complaint Management System (CMS). In 2009 the IC3 integrated an Internet Complain Search and Investigation System (ICSIS) which allows users of their database to better share information.
