Suitably Flip

6th Annual IC3y Awards

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (a.k.a. IC3, f.k.a. Internet Fraud Complaint Center) has published its 2006 Internet Crime Report.  It was a banner year for phishers, pharmers, and Nigerian scammers, who fleeced us out of a record $198 million, up 8% from 2005.  What's more, the baddies are actually getting more efficient, as the number of complaints received by IC3 actually decreased for the first time ever.

(Hmm, increasing productivity despite a downtick in headcount.  Speaker Pelosi is surely lamenting this "jobless recovery" in the online scamming industry.)

On to the honors...

Most Popular Scam:  Auction Fraud.

Accounting for 45% of all complaints received, Auction Fraud displayed its continued dominance of the online fraud game.  While down significantly from 2005, the eBay Power Scammers once again take home top honors.

Most Successful Scam:  Nigerian Letter Fraud

You may have seen right through the mannerly pleas from that overseas executor hoping you'll help him launder millions of euros or dinars or guilders, but not everybody did.  The median haul for a Nigerian 419 scammer:  $5,100 dollars.  And they're not going to be sending you 30% like they promised.

The Up-and-Comer:  Non-Delivery Fraud

It's second only to auction fraud in its popularity and it's on the rise.  To make sure that suspiciously well-priced Xbox Elite or male enhancement supplement is actually going to find its way to your door, the FBI advises you to "not judge a person/company by their fancy website" and to pay with a credit card, so you may dispute the charges once you realize you've been had.

Most eCorrupt Place In the Country:  Washington, D.C.

Shocking, eh?  Barely edging out Nevada, the beltway encircles 75 internet criminals for every 100,000 residents, making them slightly more prevalent than prostate cancer.

Most eGullible Place In the Country:  Alaska

Alaskans have 12 different words for "hornswoggle".  For whatever reason, if you live in the Last Frontier, you're more than 8 times as likely to fall victim to an online bamboozling (or to report having done so, anyway) as a South Dakotan. 

Most Duplicitous Month:  March

What is it about March?  The IC3 received significantly more complaints in March 2006 than in any other month - more than 20,000.  There was a similar isolated uptick in March of 2005.  It seems counterintuitive from a weather perspective.  With the snow melting and the birds chirping, you'd think cybercriminals'  fancy would turn to thoughts of purse snatching and other outdoorsy felonies.  Nor does a March swell seem to sync well the academic calendar.  Do people simply fritter away more time online in March?  Matt Drudge thinks so.  He reported today that March 2007 was the site's highest volume month in 12 years, beating out the previous record holder, March 2006.  Maybe it's tied to the 90-day expiration of all that security software that came pre-installed on Christmas-bought PCs.  Whatever the reason, March 2006 also brought happy news, namely the incarceration of the final honoree...

Internet Fraud/International Terrorism Crossover Artist Of the Year:  Steven Pruette

Pruette allegedly sent the scam victim, an Oconee County resident, a fraudulent second chance offer posing as the original seller of an item on EBay. After wiring the money, the victim learned that EBay was in no way involved in the transaction and he promptly filed a complaint with the IC3. The complaint was forwarded to his local sheriff’s department. After reviewing the complaint, Lt. David Kilpatrick advised Western Union of the fraud. Pruette, who had been using a Miami, FL address, was nabbed when he entered a Western Union location in Chicago, IL and attempted to pick up the funds. Pruette is a Romanian national and is currently being held by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He is believed to be part of a multi-state cell which sends funds to Romania and other countries to support terrorist efforts.

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6th Annual IC3y Awards

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (a.k.a. IC3, f.k.a. Internet Fraud Complaint Center) has published its 2006 Internet Crime Report.  It was a banner year for phishers, pharmers, and Nigerian scammers, who fleeced us out of a record $198 million, up 8% from 2005.  What's more, the baddies are actually getting more efficient, as the number of complaints received by IC3 actually decreased for the first time ever.

(Hmm, increasing productivity despite a downtick in headcount.  Speaker Pelosi is surely lamenting this "jobless recovery" in the online scamming industry.)

On to the honors...

Most Popular Scam:  Auction Fraud.

Accounting for 45% of all complaints received, Auction Fraud displayed its continued dominance of the online fraud game.  While down significantly from 2005, the eBay Power Scammers once again take home top honors.

Most Successful Scam:  Nigerian Letter Fraud

You may have seen right through the mannerly pleas from that overseas executor hoping you'll help him launder millions of euros or dinars or guilders, but not everybody did.  The median haul for a Nigerian 419 scammer:  $5,100 dollars.  And they're not going to be sending you 30% like they promised.

The Up-and-Comer:  Non-Delivery Fraud

It's second only to auction fraud in its popularity and it's on the rise.  To make sure that suspiciously well-priced Xbox Elite or male enhancement supplement is actually going to find its way to your door, the FBI advises you to "not judge a person/company by their fancy website" and to pay with a credit card, so you may dispute the charges once you realize you've been had.

Most eCorrupt Place In the Country:  Washington, D.C.

Shocking, eh?  Barely edging out Nevada, the beltway encircles 75 internet criminals for every 100,000 residents, making them slightly more prevalent than prostate cancer.

Most eGullible Place In the Country:  Alaska

Alaskans have 12 different words for "hornswoggle".  For whatever reason, if you live in the Last Frontier, you're more than 8 times as likely to fall victim to an online bamboozling (or to report having done so, anyway) as a South Dakotan. 

Most Duplicitous Month:  March

What is it about March?  The IC3 received significantly more complaints in March 2006 than in any other month - more than 20,000.  There was a similar isolated uptick in March of 2005.  It seems counterintuitive from a weather perspective.  With the snow melting and the birds chirping, you'd think cybercriminals'  fancy would turn to thoughts of purse snatching and other outdoorsy felonies.  Nor does a March swell seem to sync well the academic calendar.  Do people simply fritter away more time online in March?  Matt Drudge thinks so.  He reported today that March 2007 was the site's highest volume month in 12 years, beating out the previous record holder, March 2006.  Maybe it's tied to the 90-day expiration of all that security software that came pre-installed on Christmas-bought PCs.  Whatever the reason, March 2006 also brought happy news, namely the incarceration of the final honoree...

Internet Fraud/International Terrorism Crossover Artist Of the Year:  Steven Pruette

Pruette allegedly sent the scam victim, an Oconee County resident, a fraudulent second chance offer posing as the original seller of an item on EBay. After wiring the money, the victim learned that EBay was in no way involved in the transaction and he promptly filed a complaint with the IC3. The complaint was forwarded to his local sheriff’s department. After reviewing the complaint, Lt. David Kilpatrick advised Western Union of the fraud. Pruette, who had been using a Miami, FL address, was nabbed when he entered a Western Union location in Chicago, IL and attempted to pick up the funds. Pruette is a Romanian national and is currently being held by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He is believed to be part of a multi-state cell which sends funds to Romania and other countries to support terrorist efforts.