Charleston, South Carolina — Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart announced today that, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2020 Internet Crime Report, South Carolina residents lost more than $ 30 million to cyber criminals last year. The United States Attorney General, DeHart, urges the public to remain vigilant in relation to cyber crimes, lest it be a victim.
“Cyber crimes can inflict lifelong harm on victims,” said US Attorney General DeHart. “That’s why the FBI’s investigative work and the cybercrime prosecutor’s efforts by our office will not end until those crimes are stopped. Until that day comes, the public must remain vigilant, especially during the pandemic, to avoid falling victim to cybercriminal exploiters. “
The FBI’s annual report noted an increase of more than 300,000 complaints of suspected Internet crimes as of 2019, with nearly 800,000 reported in 2020 for reported losses of more than $ 4.2 billion nationwide.
In South Carolina and across the country, the victims were the ones who lost the most money in 2020 through the compromise of commercial email / email account (BEC / EAC), followed by romantic scams. Victims of BEC / EAC crimes in South Carolina reported losses of more than $ 8.3 million, while victims of romantic scams in South Carolina reported losses of more than $ 4.4 million.
2020 also led to the appearance of COVID-19 scams. Nearly 30,000 complaints from individuals and companies have been reported across the country for crimes related to pandemic scams.
“The pandemic has unfortunately encouraged cyber criminals to try to take advantage of many neighbors, including those who work from home and stay at home more often,” said US Attorney General DeHart. “Our office encourages South Carolina and South Carolina companies to protect themselves with video call security measures and other ways to protect confidential information.”
Victims of cybercrime are encouraged to contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
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South Carolina data from 2020 Internet Crime Report can be found at https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2020State/StateReport.aspx#?s=45.