Ohio ranks among states most affected by internet crimes, according to FBI

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio ranked among the states most affected by internet crimes in 2023, according to a report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received a record number of 880,418 complaints regarding email scams, identity theft, ransomware and other cyber crimes last year – a nearly 10% increase from 2022. Potential losses exceeded $12.5 billion, according to the agency. 

Ohio ranked among the top 10 states that submitted the most complaints to the FBI, coming in at No. 5. The agency received 17,864 complaints from the state in 2023. California reported the most cybercrimes (77,271), followed by Texas (47,061), Florida (41,061) and New York (26,948). 

When it comes to which states had the highest monetary losses, Ohio came in at No. 17, losing over $1.97 million to cybercrimes. California lost the most money at $2.15 billion, followed by Texas ($1.02 billion), Florida ($8.74 million), New York ($7.49 million) and New Jersey ($4.41 million). 

Nationally, phishing schemes,  an online scam that tricks people into giving away sensitive information to criminals, was the most reported cybercrime with 298,878 complaints. The second-most reported crime was personal data breaches (55,851), followed by non-payment or non-delivery scams (50,523), extortion (48,223) and investment fraud, a scheme where scammers ask for upfront cash in exchange for future returns (39,570). 

Investment fraud was the costliest cybercrime of 2023, totaling to $4.57 billion in losses. Email and tech-support scams were also among the most costly cybercrimes. Victims 30 to 49 years old were the most likely group to report losses from investment fraud, while the elderly accounted for over half of losses to tech support scams, according to the FBI.