Auction Fraud Tops FBI's 2006 Internet Crime Report

The FBI's Internet Crime Report for 2006 has been released. It shows that 45 percent of the complaints are for auction fraud and that "old standards" like the Nigerian letter still hook victims.

In fact, according to the report, the Nigerian Letter accounted for the highest median loss ($5,100).

Other Internet crimes covered in the report are identity theft, investment fraud, cyberstalking, phishing, spoofing and spamming.

The report indicates more crimes were reported to the FBI in 2006 than in any other previous year.

While we might like to believe that Internet crime comes from afar, the report shows 61 percent of Internet fraudsters come from the United States. Other countries of origin listed were the U.K., Nigeria, Canada, Romania, and Italy.

74 percent of the victims were contacted via e-mail.

Full report, here.

The report has tips on how to avoid becoming a victim.

More tips can be viewed on the IC3 site, here.