Internet crime reaches all-time high, says FBI

Crimes perpetrated on the internet during 2007 cost the US $240 million in 2007, a $40 million rise from 2006 figures and an all-time high for the US.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published figures in its 2007 internet crime report. It showed that the FBI received 206,884 complaints relating to internet crime in 2007.

FBI cyber division assistant director James E. Finch said the figures show how extensive internet crime has become.

"What this report does not show is how often this type of activity goes unreported," he said.

Computer intrusions, spam and unsolicited e-mail and internet auction fraud are some of the most popular types of fraud committed over the internet.

America's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) was established as a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) to combat internet crime.

UK plans to create a national police unit to fight high-tech crime were dealt a blow after the Home Office recently said it was unable to find £1.3m to fund the unit.

A report by the Office of Fair Trading published in 2006 found that the internet had fuelled an increase in scams and UK consumers lose £3.5 billion to internet and non-internet scams each year.