Specialized FBI website allows you to report cybercrime, help catch scammers
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — From all corners of the world, scammers have infiltrated the internet.
"They're advanced. They're sophisticated. They're criminal to the core; fraud is in their DNA," said Richard Baer, supervisory special agent of the FBI in Nashville. "Our goal really is prevention."
Much of Baer's work deals with investigating financial crimes and health care fraud.
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"The volume of fraud, if I have to be honest, is just it's overwhelming," Baer said.
That's why the FBI has taken a proactive approach with the Internet Crime Complaint Center , or IC3. That website allows the public to report cybercrime directly to the bureau. In 2023, the IC3 received a record number of more than 880,000 complaints with an estimated total loss exceeding $12.5 billion.
"Seniors: they're a very targeted, vulnerable population," Baer said. "They're at the that stage in life that whatever they've done good and purposeful in life, they have a large amount to lose. They're also digital immigrants. Where a lot of us, and even the younger generations, are learning the language of technology, or digital natives."
In the IC3's annual report for 2023, Tennessee ranked in the top half of states for complaints and losses, at more than $161 million dollars. The report highlights investment scams, ransomware attacks, phishing, and tech support scams, which largely target older adults. Nearly 60 percent of money lost to call center scammers came from people over 60.
"A large amount of it is generating from overseas, and the criminals are adopting their trade craft," Baer said. "Some of them sit in call centers, and they have different roles in those call centers to be the online persona and to be really good and savvy, almost like a business would."
The FBI Knoxville Cyber Squad busted a tech support scam ring that started with an IC3 complaint. The resulting investigation found more than 14,000 victims who lost a combined $4 million after believing they had to pay hundreds of dollars to remove fake malware from their computers. Five defendants were sentenced to prison time or probation.
But for every scammer caught, there are countless more lurking online.
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"We're not going to investigate our way out of this problem with how wide open the internet is. It's a blessing to all of us, but it introduces these vulnerabilities, and so the name of the game here is absolutely prevention," Baer said. "Be on alert. Bookmark the IC3 website, maybe review it periodically for the latest. If you're at a point in life to do a significant money flow or money transaction, or your parents or loved ones might be doing the same, go to that website. Make sure it all looks legit. Do your due diligence."
The IC3 has a section of its website dedicated to elder fraud, which shows more than $1.1 billion was lost by Americans over 60 to cryptocurrency scammers.
