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The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 800,944 complaints and recorded $10.3 billion in reported losses for 2022, according to its 2022 Internet Crime Report. That figure totals losses reported in complaints; it is not an audited count of every cybercrime or all losses suffered by victims.
What the FBI’s $10.3 billion figure means
The amount is the annual aggregate of losses reported to IC3 in complaints it received. IC3 covers a broad range of internet scams affecting victims around the world, but complaints are not a census of incidents. Some crimes are never reported, and the total should not be read as the complete cost of cybercrime in the United States or globally.
Complaint count and reported dollar loss measure different things. Complaint count tracks reports received; the loss total reflects the amounts reported by complainants. Neither measure by itself establishes how many incidents went unreported or how severe a particular victim’s experience was.
Reported losses rose over five years, while complaints fell in 2022
The IC3 report’s five-year comparison shows reported losses rising each year from 2018 through 2022. Complaint volume, however, declined from 2021 to 2022.
#1 Best Overall
| Year | Complaints received | Reported losses |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 351,937 | $2.7 billion |
| 2019 | 467,361 | $3.5 billion |
| 2020 | 791,790 | $4.2 billion |
| 2021 | 847,376 | $6.9 billion |
| 2022 | 800,944 | $10.3 billion |
These are figures reported by IC3 in its 2022 report. The contrast matters: fewer complaints in 2022 than in 2021 did not mean lower reported losses. The year-to-year figures show what was reported, but do not by themselves explain why the amounts changed.
Investment complaints and business email compromise drove large reported losses
In the report’s crime-type tables, investment-related complaints accounted for $3,311,742,206 in reported losses, while business email compromise accounted for $2,742,354,049. Phishing was the most numerous listed category, with 300,497 complaints. These measures are not interchangeable: a high complaint count does not necessarily mean the category had the largest reported losses.
Rank #2
The figures come from separate crime-type tables in the IC3 2022 report. They describe reported losses and complaints within those categories; they should not be treated as a complete accounting of every loss or as the sole explanation for the annual total.
Ransomware losses are especially incomplete
IC3 recorded 2,385 ransomware complaints and more than $34.3 million in adjusted losses in 2022. That amount is not a measure of ransomware’s full economic impact. The report says its figure excludes estimated lost business, time, wages, files, equipment, and third-party remediation services. It may also be artificially low because some victims do not report a loss amount, infections often go unreported, and the figure does not include victims who report directly to FBI field offices or agents.
The report defines ransomware as “a type of malicious software, or malware, that encrypts data on a computer, making it unusable.” The complaint and adjusted-loss figures, as well as the definition and limitations, appear in the IC3 report’s ransomware section.
2022 is not the latest year in the FBI’s figures
The 2022 total is the figure named in this article’s headline, not the most recent IC3 annual loss figure now shown by the FBI. IC3’s current homepage reports $12.5 billion in losses for 2023 and $16.6 billion for 2024. Those are complaint-reported figures for different years, so they should be compared with the same reporting-scope caveat in mind. See the IC3 homepage for its current five-year comparison.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Steps the FBI recommends to reduce ransomware risk
The IC3 report recommends practical measures for organizations and individuals seeking to limit ransomware exposure:
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems- Keep operating systems and software updated.
- Train users, including through phishing exercises, to recognize suspicious links and attachments.
- If Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is used, secure it and monitor it.
- Keep an offline backup of important data. An external hard drive can be one way to create an offline copy, but it is not a product specifically named or endorsed by the FBI.
The report also says that reporting an incident may help the FBI provide decryption information, recover stolen data, or pursue seizure or recovery of ransom payments; it does not guarantee any of those outcomes. Its prevention and reporting advice is in the ransomware section of the 2022 report.
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