Florida victims of internet crimes, scams keep rising

Reporter: Rich Kolko
Published: Updated:
FILE: Cyber security

It is more important than ever to protect yourself on the internet. Brand new information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows cyber crimes are only getting worse.

Around 352,000 people filed a complaint with the FBI last year. That is up more than 50,000 from 2017.

The top three internet crimes reported to investigators in 2018 are non-payment or non-delivery, extortion, and personal data breach.

Compared to other states when it comes to internet crimes, Florida does not do well and is not getting any better, according to WINK News Safety and Security Specialist Rich Kolko.

The outlook is dismal as over 178,000,000 was reported lost in 2018. The victims could be a lot bigger since a lot of people do not file a report.

“Cybercrime is just going to continue to get worse,” said Carrie Kerskie, president of Griffon Force. “And its easier and easier for bad guys. A big rule of thumb we always try to tell people is that do you want privacy or convenience because they don’t live in the same space.”

A lot of the scams have new names, but most are just reinvented versions of previous scams. Knowledge is key. Access the IC3 Report here, which is fascinating to look at.

Florida top state for internet scams

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