4. Ransomware
Last year, 2,385 ransomware complaints were filed, although the FBI believes there are much more that either went undetected or were not reported. Scammers will typically obtain access to data on a computer, such as what happened with the Royal Mail scam last month.
When this happens, the scammer will ask for a ransom, in the case of Royal Mail, amounting to $80 million, and if the amount is not paid, they warn that they will hold the data hostage or release it to the public.
Ransomware attacks accounted for more than $34.3 million in total losses last year and the FBI says the top variants were made by LockBit, ALPHV/BlackCat, and Hive.
