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Top 5 reported cyber crime types in USA Internet Crime Complaint Centre

Identity theft no longer top reported cyber crime in US

If you think you’re being emailed by the FBI… you’re probably not.

WE’VE BEEN HEARING a lot about identity theft in the US lately, so we were surprised to find out it actually wasn’t the top-reported cyber crime last year.

According to the Internet Crime Complaint Centre, FBI-impersonation scams were the most common cyber crime in 2011. The centre received 314,246 complaints last year, a third of which had reported stolen funds. A little more than $485.25 million (€381.226) went missing in all.

FBI impersonator email scams have kept the centre quite busy. About 39 complaints were logged per day, with $245 (€192) being reported stolen on average.

The FBI email scam is nothing more than a new twist on the old sweepstakes scam, which claims the victim has won or inherited a large sum of money.

“Basically, the scams need an air of legitimacy in order to work and invoking the FBI or another governmental agency leads victims to believe the fraudsters’ claims,” Charles Pavelites, an FBI supervisory special agent at the centre, told the Associated Press.

See below for a breakdown of the scam by age group:

(Image: Internet Crime Complaint Centre)

- Jana Kasperkevic

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    Mute Derek o keeffe
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    Apr 8th 2017, 4:06 PM

    Why didn’t they test it on themselves?

    68
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    Mute Dubabroad
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    Apr 8th 2017, 4:33 PM

    @Derek o keeffe: Because like most clinical trials this one was carried out on mice to gauge reactions/side effects..
    Without such trials the average human life expectancy would still be somewhere between 35/55 and we wouldn’t have the vast majority of the current life saving Cancer and AIDS treatments to mention just two…

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    Mute Michael Hayden
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    Apr 8th 2017, 4:42 PM

    @Derek o keeffe: a better question is why they didn’t test it on you.

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    Mute Bobby Phelan
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    Apr 8th 2017, 6:59 PM

    Cannabis works on pain as well oh thats right big pharmaceuticals cant profit off that though.Cannabis is one of the biggest break throughs in medicine but our media seem to ignore it.

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    Mute Damocles
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    Apr 8th 2017, 4:44 PM

    Can you “milk” the fish for venom, package it and sell it to people? Asking for a friend.

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    Mute O Swetenham
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    Apr 8th 2017, 4:17 PM

    ‘The Fang Blennies’….weren’t they a pop group back in the 80′s?

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    Mute goon4life
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    Apr 8th 2017, 4:40 PM

    Is the venom addictive like current opioids? If so what’s the big deal?

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    Mute THE BATMAN
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    Apr 8th 2017, 7:37 PM

    Stooooooory bud!!! Ya got any of them fishes the ones with da gear man for me girlfriend like it’s her beerday tomorra!! On tick of course bud scratcher end of the week bud… (over heard in pet shop in Dublin city centre )

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    Mute Paul A Whelan
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    Apr 8th 2017, 6:58 PM

    What’s the point. Patients still can’t get the medicinal cannabis that could help them.

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    Mute John O'Driscoll
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    Apr 8th 2017, 4:41 PM

    It’s not IF we lose the Great Barrier Reef it’s WHEN. Better stock up on tanks pumps and protein skimmers all of which will require a lot of fossil fuel generated electricity to run if we want to keep the blenny inter alia.

    Mind it’s probably moot given the mindless approach of governments and society to date towards natural painkillers and cancer killing substances. If it actually delivers a useful result he blenny will probably be banned by law.

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    Mute Fionn Bohane
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    Apr 8th 2017, 4:25 PM

    Do they feel pain themselves I wonder?

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    Mute eastsmer #IRExit
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    Apr 8th 2017, 4:55 PM

    I foresee growth in aquarium stockist shops

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    Mute Etherman
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    Apr 8th 2017, 4:14 PM

    Were the mice drugged or did they just drown?

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    Mute Michael Anthony Thompson
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    Apr 8th 2017, 5:48 PM

    Does this come in the form of fish fingers?

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    Mute Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
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    Apr 8th 2017, 6:16 PM

    Big Bryan Fry experimenting with Small Blenny Fry. The outcome a numbing experience.

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    Mute jerry curtin
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    Apr 8th 2017, 7:52 PM

    You can get bags of it down the quays already

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    Mute Noel Hogan
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    Apr 8th 2017, 6:53 PM

    I

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    Mute Alois Irlmaier
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    Apr 10th 2017, 10:47 PM

    The happiest fish going lol.

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    Mute Paddy
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    Apr 8th 2017, 11:54 PM

    Brilliant, another drug all the social degenerates can get addicted to once it gets licensed!!!

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