Cyber Awareness & Digital Citizenship Hackathon

 This blog is assigned by Dr. Dilip Barad Sir as part of the Cyber Awareness & Digital Citizenship Hackathon. As part of this assignment, we are required to create one video, one infographic, and one blog post to promote social awareness.

As part of this i make it on the topic : 

E-commerce and Online Shopping Fraud

Seniors, Crypto, and AI: The Shocking Truths Inside the FBI's $16.6 Billion Fraud Report

Our daily lives are deeply intertwined with the digital world, but this convenience comes with the ever-present risk of online crime. The latest data reveals the problem is escalating at an unprecedented rate. In 2024, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported a new record for losses, totaling a staggering $16.6 billion. A closer look at the data from the FBI and other industry reports reveals some surprising and counter-intuitive truths about who is most at risk and how these crimes are evolving.

Financial Losses Are Breaking All Records

The total losses reported to the FBI's IC3 in 2024 hit a record $16.6 billion. To understand the sheer volume of these incidents, consider that for the past five years, the IC3 has received an average of more than 2,000 complaints every single day.

This trend extends beyond the FBI's data. Projections from Statista show that total global online payment fraud losses are expected to surpass $100 billion by 2029. The enormous scale of these figures underscores a critical reality: cybercrime is not a niche issue but a massive, systemic threat to the global economy.

It’s Not Just Young People: Seniors Suffer the Greatest Losses

A common stereotype suggests that younger, constantly-online individuals are the primary targets of cybercrime. Dispelling this myth, the data paints a grim and unexpected picture. According to the FBI's 2024 IC3 report, the 60+ age group suffered the most financial damage and submitted the highest number of complaints.

The numbers are stark: 147,127 complaints were filed by individuals aged 60 and over, resulting in $4.8 billion in losses. This represents a staggering 43% increase in losses for this demographic compared to 2023. This vulnerability is often exploited through tech support, investment, and romance scams, which rely on building trust or creating a sense of urgency and panic, rather than technical prowess. As FBI Operations Director B. Chad Yarbrough stated in the report:

As a group, those over the age of 60 suffered the most losses and submitted the most complaints.

Cryptocurrency is the New Wild West for Scammers

Cryptocurrency has rapidly become a primary vehicle for fraud, with reported losses exploding in recent years. The FBI's data shows that financial losses related to cryptocurrency fraud reached an astonishing $9.3 billion in 2024, a 66% increase from the previous year.

Connecting back to the most vulnerable demographic, the largest age group reporting crypto-related fraud is the 60+ population, which lost over $2.8 billion. This finding is particularly impactful, as it shows that a complex and modern technology is being weaponized at an alarming rate against some of society's most vulnerable members.

Don’t Forget About Checks: An Old-School Method Still Dominates Business Fraud

In an age of AI deepfakes and crypto scams, it’s easy to overlook older, more traditional methods of fraud. However, the 2025 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey reveals a counter-intuitive finding: checks continue to be the payment method most susceptible to fraud, with 63% of organizations reporting they faced check fraud in 2024.

While new threats emerge, fundamental vulnerabilities persist. Business Email Compromise (BEC) remains the top channel for overall fraud attempts (cited by 63% of organizations), with vendor impersonation being a primary tactic used in 60% of cases. This highlights that even modern digital attacks like BEC often culminate in a request for a traditional payment method, demonstrating how old vulnerabilities can be exploited by new techniques.

The AI Paradox: Our Best Weapon is Also the Criminals’

Artificial intelligence represents a true double-edged sword in the world of cybersecurity, acting as both a powerful tool for criminals and a critical weapon for defenders.

On one side, criminals are leveraging AI to create sophisticated deepfakes, synthetic identities, and voice clones to make their scams more convincing and harder to detect, as noted in a report by Mishcon de Reya. On the other side, organizations are fighting back with the same technology. According to Alloy's 2025 State of Fraud Report, 99% of financial organizations are already using some form of AI or machine learning to combat fraud. This escalating technological arms race between attackers and defenders is coming to define the modern fraud landscape.

Conclusion

The landscape of online fraud is not only growing at a historic pace but is also evolving in complex and often surprising ways. From senior citizens losing billions to cryptocurrency scams to corporations still battling check fraud, the threat is universal and multifaceted. The data makes it clear that stereotypes about victims and methods are often outdated and that vigilance is required on all fronts.

Awareness is the first and most critical step toward protection for individuals and organizations alike. As both criminals and defenders turn to artificial intelligence as their weapon of choice, we are left with a critical question. Are we prepared for a future where the line between a real person and a fraudulent deepfake becomes impossible to see?

 

Here is video overview generated by Note book LM

Thank you