Economy sinks, Internet fraud rises
WASHINGTON, April 1 (UPI) –
Internet fraud reported to a U.S. government clearinghouse was up one-third last year over 2007, officials report.
John Kane, research director for the Internet Crime Complaint Center, suggested the economic slump may be to blame, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Tuesday. He said job loss and the battered stock market make some people more vulnerable to fraudulent get-rich-quick schemes, while others hit by hard times turn to crime.
“You have a large population of potential victims … who might not otherwise fall for these scams at a time when they’re personal
financial situation was a little bit better,” Kane said.
The center reported Monday that it received 275,284 complaints during the year, with losses totaling $265 million, the BBC reported. The two most common complaints were goods ordered and paid for on line and not received and Internet auction fraud, followed by credit card fraud.
Copyright 2009 by U…
See the full post at Economy sinks, Internet fraud rises
