According to the FBI’s annual report on Internet crime, men lost 67% more money than women in 2007, with an average loss of US $765.00. Over 206,000 complaints were made, a little less than in 2006, but total losses were at their highest level ever, nearly $240 million. Online auctions, non-delivery of merchandise or payment, and credit card fraud were among the most common complaints.
Only one in seven of the complaints ever found its way to law enforcement, but jurisdictional issues impeded investigations due to issues with multiple victims, multiple states/countries, and varying dollar loss thresholds used for initiating investigations. The vast majority of the bad guys (75% are men) were in contact with the complainant through either e-mail or via the web. So be careful out there!