| 2000 Top 10 Frauds | Jan.-Oct. 2001 Top 10 Frauds | ||
| Online Auctions | 78% | Online Auctions | 63% |
| General Merchandise Sales | 10% | General Merchandise Sales | 11% |
| Internet Access Services | 3% | Nigerian Money Offers | 9% |
| Work-At-Home | 3% | Internet Access Services | 3% |
| Advance Fee Loans | 2% | Information Adult Services | 3% |
| Computer Equipment/Soft. | 1% | Computer Equipment/Soft. | 2% |
| Nigerian Money Offers | 1% | Work-At-Home | 2% |
| Information Adult Services | 1% | Advance Fee Loans | 1% |
| Credit Card Issuing | .5% | Credit Card Issuing | .6% |
| Travel/Vacations | .5% | Business Opportunities/franchises | .4% |
Methods of Contact
Web sites are still the most common way that consumers are solicited for fraudulent Internet offers, but the statistics reveal an increase in the number of initial contacts made by con artists in emails.
| 2000 Solicitation Method | 2001 Solicitation Method | ||
| Web Sites | 82% | Web Sites | 78% |
| 12% | 18% | ||
| Newsgroups | 4% | Newsgroups | 2% |
Money Lost
The amount of money consumers are losing to Internet fraud, is increasing. Losses overall are $4,371,724, up from $3,387,530 in 2000. The average loss per person rose from $427 in 2000 to $636 in 2001. There are significant differences in the per person averages for each category.
|
Top Scams |
Average Loss Per Person |
| Online Auctions | $478 |
| General Merchandise Sales | $845 |
| Nigerian Money Offers | $6,542 |
| Internet Access Services | $568 |
| Information Adult Services | $234 |
| Computer Equipment/Soft. | $1,102 |
| Work-At-Home | $120 |
Payment Methods
Though consumers are using their credit cards more online, money orders are still the most common way Internet fraud victims paid for their products or services. Some categories showed a large increase in credit cards for payments, while others like Nigerian money offers continued to show bank account debits and wire services as the most common way to pay.
| 2000 Top 5 Payment | 2001 Top 5 Payment | ||
| Money Order | 43% | Money Order | 29% |
| Check | 30% | Credit Card | 28% |
| Credit Card | 11% | Check | 18% |
| Cashier's Check | 6% | Bank Account Debit | 6% |
| Cash | 3% | Debit Card | 5% |
| 2000 Internet Fraud | Method of Payment | Jan.-Oct. 2001 Internet Fraud | Method of Payment | |||
| Online Auctions | Online Auctions | |||||
| Money Order | 48% | Money Order | 48% | |||
| Credit Card | 32% | Check | 32% | |||
| Check | 7% | Cashier's Check | 7% | |||
| Bank Account Debit | 6% | Credit Card | 6% | |||
| Debit Card | 3% | Cash | 3% | |||
| General Merchandise Sales | General Merchandise Sales | |||||
| Credit Card | 28% | Credit Card | 41% | |||
| Money Order | 25% | Money Order | 21% | |||
| Check | 24% | Check | 16% | |||
| Cashier's Check | 5% | Debit Card | 6% | |||
| Debit Card | 5% | Wire | 4% | |||
| Internet Access Services | Internet Access Services | |||||
| Credit Card | 37% | Credit Card | 54% | |||
| Telephone Bill | 15% | Bank Account Debit | 21% | |||
| Check | 14% | Check | 8% | |||
| Bank Account Debit | 13% | Debit Card | 6% | |||
| Debit Card | 9% | Money Order | 4% | |||
| Work-At-Home | Work-At-Home | |||||
| Check | 40% | Check | 29% | |||
| Money Order | 23% | Money Order | 29% | |||
| Credit Card | 19% | Credit Card | 20% | |||
| Bank Account Debit | 9% | Bank Account Debit | 12% | |||
| Cash | 3% | Debit Card | 5% | |||
| Computer Equipment Software | Computer Equipment Software | |||||
| Money Order | 27% | Credit Card | 36% | |||
| Credit Card | 24% | Money Order | 15% | |||
| Check | 22% | Debit Card | 12% | |||
| Wire | 13% | Check | 11% | |||
| Cashier's Check | 8% | Wire | 9% | |||
For additional information, visit www.nclnet.org/shoppingonline.
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