Internet Crime According to the FI

• Overall totals: During 2006, consumers filed 207,492 complaints. Complainants said they lost $198.4 million, the highest total ever.

• Types of fraud: Nearly 45 percent of the complaints involved online auction fraud—such as getting a different product than you expected—making it the largest category; more than 19 percent concerned undelivered merchandise or payments.

• The perpetrators: Three-quarters were men. Nearly 61 percent lived in the U.S., with half in one of seven states. Other top countries included the U.K., Nigeria, Canada, Romania, and Italy.

• Victims: The report shows that the “average” complainant was a man between 30 and 40 living in California, Texas, Florida, or New York. An average of $724 was reported lost .
  
• The highest losses involved Nigerian letter fraud, with a median loss of $5,100. Nearly 74 percent of the complaints said they were contacted through e-mail. These usually end up in your "bulk" folder but, may sometimes get through.