CINCINNATI (WXIX) – Ohio ranked fifth in the United States for cybercrime last year, according to an FBI report released Wednesday.
Indiana is ranked 16th and Kentucky is ranked 31st.
Americans will lose $12.5 billion to online fraud cases, up from $3.5 billion five years ago and a 22% increase from 2022 to 2023.
Ohio lost $197 million last year, Indiana lost $160 million and Kentucky lost $48 million.
Technology expert David Hatter says people often make it easy for cybercriminals to take advantage of them. He said law enforcement and internet users must make changes to reduce the numbers.
“I think this is going to increase until there’s a way to get these people to stop and people realize how easy it is to pull off these scams,” Hart said. “People need to be more skeptical and cautious and follow good security practices. “
Phishing scams are the most reported form of cybercrime. Hart said people should be careful about using QR codes and make sure they know where they are coming from.
“The bad guys know there’s no way to look at the quality control code and know it’s not legal,” Hart said.
Last year, people over 60 filed the most complaints, with losses totaling $3.4 billion nationwide.
The FBI said people who want more information to identify online fraud and potential scams can visit the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
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