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Hackers Extorted $28 Million in Cryptocurrencies Last Year

Victims lost $1.33 billion to cyber criminals in 298,728 cases, with hackers stealing and extorting $28.3 million in cryptocurrencies in 2016. On June 22, the Federal Bureau of Investigation presented its annual  Internet Crime Report  for the year of 2016. The FBI analyzed the victim reports at the  Internet Crime Complaint Center  (IC3) and used the information from their database to publish the annual study. It is important to mention that, according to the Department of Justice’s research, only an  estimated 15 percent  of the U.S. fraud victims reported their crimes to law enforcement. The FBI highlighted multiple “hot topics” regarding internet crimes for the year of 2016. This included Business Email Compromise (BEC), which resulted in the loss of $360 million from victims, currently standing in first place in the category of most damage caused. BEC is a sophisticated scam targeting companies working with international or foreign businesses or suppliers who conduct wire