The US Internet Fraud Complaint Centre has reported a rise in cyber crime for the first time in three years, with fraud losses reaching a record high of $265 million.
According to Reuters, online scams originating from the United States, Canada, Britain, Nigeria and China have seen a 50 per cent increase.
“2009 is shaping up to be a very busy year in terms of cyber-crime,” said the author of the report and managing director of the National White Collar Crime Center, John Kane.
“It is our belief that these numbers, both the complaints filed and the dollars, represent just a small tip of the iceberg.”