2015 Internet Crime Report

Theft

2015

Internet Crime Report

Internet Crime Complaint Center 1

Internet Crime Complaint Center, IC3

The mission of the FBI is to protect the American People and uphold the Constitution of the United States.

The mission of the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is to provide the public with a reliable and convenient reporting mechanism to submit information to the FBI concerning suspected Internet-facilitated criminal activity, and to develop effective alliances with industry partners. Information is processed for investigative and intelligence purposes for law enforcement and public awareness.

In an effort to promote public awareness, the IC3 produces this annual report to aggregate and highlight the data provided by the general public. The quality of the data is directly attributable to the information ingested via the public interface . The IC3 attempts to standardize the data by categorizing each complaint based on the information provided. The IC3 staff analyzes the data, striving to identify trends relating to Internet-facilitated crimes and what those trends may represent in the coming year.

The crime types are described in Appendix I. Additional considerations relating to the crime types are provided in Appendix III.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

3

History of the IC3

4

The IC3's Role in Combating Cyber Crime

4

IC3 Database Remote Access

7

Operation Wellspring Initiative

8

Hot Topics for 2015: Business Email Compromise (BEC)

10

Hot Topics for 2015 continued: Email Account Compromise (EAC)

10

Hot Topics for 2015 continued: Ransomware

11

2015 Overall Statistics

12

2015 Complainant Demographics

13

2015 Top 10 States by Victim Complaints

14

2015 Top 5 Countries by Victim Complaints

14

2015 Crime Types

15

2015 Overall State Statistics

17

2015 State by State Statistics

21

Appendix I: Crime Type Descriptions

226

Appendix II: Public Service Announcements

231

Appendix III: Additional Information about IC3 Data

232

Internet Crime Complaint Center 3

Introduction

Dear Reader,

As cyber criminals become more sophisticated in their efforts to target cyber victims, we must also grow our capabilities to successfully combat and defeat them. The evolving nature of Internet crime presents a unique set of challenges, as crimes often overlap jurisdictional boundaries and perpetrators can attack from anywhere on the globe. A crucial element to our mission of identifying, pursuing, and defeating cyber threats against our nation is the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which aids citizens by bringing pervasive cyber crimes and scams to the attention of law enforcement.

The 2015 Internet Crime Report highlights the IC3's efforts over the past year, specifically focusing on their efforts regarding Business Email Compromise (BEC) and Email Account Compromise (EAC) scams and the Operation Wellspring Initiative (OWS).

The IC3 first began tracking complaints describing BEC scams in 2010, with the scams evolving to include EAC scams in 2015. In 2015, IC3 received over 8,000 complaints related to these threats with a combined reported loss of nearly $275 million. OWS launched in August 2013 and is currently active in eight FBI field offices around the country, with the goal of building the cyber investigative capability and capacity of the state and local law enforcement community. In 2015, the IC3 provided 165 referrals to Cyber Task Forces (CTFs), which resulted in 39 OWS cases.

We hope the information presented in this report will be of value to you as we work together to protect our nation and combat these threats.

Randall C. Coleman Executive Assistant Director Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch Federal Bureau of Investigation

4 2015 Internet Crime Report

History of the IC3

In May 2000, the IC3 was established as a center to receive complaints of Internet crime. The IC3 received its one millionth complaint seven years later, in June 2007, two millionth in November 2010, and three millionth in 2014. There have been 3,463,620 complaints reported to the IC3 since its inception. Over the last five years, the IC3 received an average of nearly 300,000 complaints per year. The complaints address a wide array of Internet scams affecting victims across the globe.

The IC3's Role in Combating Cyber Crime

In an interconnected world, the IC3 plays a critical role in our nation's effort to reduce the amount of economic loss by Internet crime. One can view the IC3's role in combating Internet crime as a part of an intricate puzzle. A short description of each piece is provided to explain how all pieces must work together to effectively address this global issue.

Internet Crime Complaint Center 5

Millions of people in the United States are victims of Internet crimes each year. Only an estimated 15 percent of the nation's fraud victims report their crimes to law enforcement.1 This is just a subset of the victims worldwide. Detection is the first piece of the puzzle and is the cornerstone of the larger Internet crime picture. Victims are encouraged and often directed by law enforcement to file a complaint online at . Complainants are asked to document accurate and complete information related to the Internet crime, as well as any other relevant information necessary to support the complaint.

1

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In addition to reporting the crime via , complainants should take steps to mitigate further loss. Victims can take actions such as contacting banks, credit card companies, and/or credit bureaus to block accounts, freeze accounts, dispute charges, or attempt recovery of lost funds. Victims should be diligent in reviewing credit reports to dispute any unauthorized transactions and consider credit monitoring services.

The IC3 is well positioned to be the central point for Internet crime victims to report and to alert the appropriate agencies of suspected criminal Internet activity. The IC3 reviews and analyzes data submitted through its website, and produces intelligence products to highlight emerging threats and new trends. Public service announcements (PSAs), scam alerts, and other publications outlining specific scams are posted to the website. As more people become aware of Internet crimes and the methods utilized to carry them out, potential victims are equipped with a broader understanding of the dangers associated with Internet activity and are in a better position to avoid falling prey to schemes online.

One of the largest pieces of the puzzle falls into place when the IC3 aggregates related complaints to build referrals, which are forwarded to local, state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies for potential investigation. If law enforcement conducts an investigation and determines a crime has been committed, legal action may be brought against the perpetrator. Each and every piece of this puzzle is necessary to assist law enforcement in stopping Internet crime.

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