Americans lost $550m to Internet fraud in 2009
3/15/2010

(MENAFN) A report issued by the Internet Crime Complaint Center showed that U.S. citizens reported losing more than $550 million in 2009 in Internet fraud, falling prey to a variety of increasingly sophisticated scams, Xinhua reported. The loss was more than twice that reported in 2008, according to the agency, a partnership of the FBI and the privately funded National White Collar Crime Center. Based in West Virginia, the center tracks Internet crime around the world. More complaints were reported by California residents than by residents of any other state, the report said. Common frauds included the non-delivery of merchandise ordered through websites and (advance-fee scams), in which victims were persuaded to make small payments to receive windfalls that never arrived, the report said. In April 2009, the Internet Crime Complaint Center linked 103 cases in which victims reported paying for vehicles and motorcycles that did not arrive. The victims lost a combined $360,000 that was sent to a fraudulent financing center suggested by the seller, the report said.