An annual report on cybercrime by the Federal Bureau of Investigation has revealed Alaska to be the most scammed state in America for the second year running.
With more than $450 million stolen, sunny California lost more money than any other state, but at 21.67 victims per 10,000 residents, Alaska had the highest per capita victim count.
Although more people were scammed in The Last Frontier State than in any other US state, Alaskans lost the least amount of money per person, with each victim being conned out of $2,256.30 on average.
Across the state, the total number of people targeted by cyber-thieves was 1,606, based on the number of complaints received. Overall, the state's total losses in 2018 from internet scams was a painful $3.62 million.
At the other end of the scale, the state with the fewest victims per capita for the second year in a row was South Dakota. The Midwestern state, known for the Black Hills into which the faces of four presidents have been carved, had just 5.3 victims per 10,000.
Nearly $650 million was stolen from people aged 60 and over, who the report showed are the preferred prey for scammers. This age group is particularly vulnerable to confidence/relationship fraud, which occurs when scammers convince victims to send money to someone who appears to be a trustworthy person from a recognized brand, potential romantic partner or long-lost relative.
The total losses to internet scams across the United States in 2018 exceeded $2.7 billion.
The statistics are based on a total of 351,936 complaints received in 2018 by the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The real totals regarding the number of victims and the amount of money stolen through internet scams could potentially be much higher.
Many of the scams were executed over social media but most of the money was stolen through the use of fake emails. Business email compromise (BEC) and Email account compromise (EAC) schemes accounted for more than $1 billion in losses.
Matt Gorham, assistant director of the bureau’s cyber division, said: “The most prevalent crime types reported by victims were nonpayment/nondelivery, extortion and personal data breach. The top three crime types with the highest reported loss were BEC, confidence/romance fraud and nonpayment/nondelivery."