[A Regular reader sent me this. Jan]

HOW MUCH DO VICTIMS LOSE?
Out of all online fraud reported to the
F.B.I., 3% lost over ten thousand dollars;
5% lost $5-10k, 26% lost $1-5k, 43% lost
between $100 and $1000, and 24% lost less
than $100 for a 183 million dollars in
2005 – nearly twice the amount for 2004.

WHICH COMMON SCAMS DO THEY FALL VICTIM TO?
Type of Fraud Average Loss % change from 2004
Nigerian Letter $5,000 (43)+67%
Check $3,800 (43)+6%
Confidence $2,025 (43)+103%
Investment $2,000 (43)+220%
NonDelivery $410 (43)+55% (merchandise & payment)
Auction $285 (43)+93%
Credit/Debit Card $240 none

Look at that — “Investment” has basically tripled!

Okay – so, now I bet you probably have your
guess for which country is #1, right???

PERCENT OF NET FRAUD INVESTIGATED BY THE FBI (by country of origin)
10. Russia – 1.8%
9. Romania – 1.8%
8. Greece – 1.9%
7. South Africa – 2.0%
6. China – 2.0%
5. Italy – 2.8%
4. Canada – 3.6%
3. United Kingdom – 4.9%
2. Nigeria – 9.3% and the LOSER is …
1. United States – 71%

That’s more than ALL OTHER COUNTRIES COMBINED.
That’s more than combining all the other
countries and doubling their crime.

Pretty shocking really. Not so much that
the US is #1 — but by how far in the lead
they are.

Oh, and the scammers are getting trickier,
too. For instance, victims of auction fraud
lost twice as much per crime than just the
year before. So, for the one hundred millionth
time: if the deal sounds too good to be true …

All the best,
Christian Roberts
Editor-in-Chief
Scamwatcher.org

Scam Watcher Organization, 4 0 8 0 Paradise Rd., #1 5 – 3 5 7, Las Vegas, NV 8 9 1 0 9, USA