People in Hawaii lost $17.2 million to online crimes last year, with investment scams, romance cons and the illegal use of digital currency accounting for the largest financial swindles, according to the FBI Internet Crime Report.
Most victims in Hawaii were people who got stiffed through online billing issues or did not receive what they paid for, with the 2021 report showing those situations accounting for 235 cases. Incidences of extortion were the next highest in number with 208 victims, followed by personal data breaches at 202.
Investment scams promising impressive returns that never materialized cost Hawaii victims $5.04 million last year, according to the data.
Crooks who targeted business email accounts through “social engineering or computer intrusion techniques” were able to make “unauthorized transfers of funds” in Hawaii totaling more than $5.02 million in 2021, while criminals creating a “fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and confidence” through romance or some other emotional bond, cost people in the Aloha State $4.19 million, according to the FBI.
Steven Merrill, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Honolulu Division, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that department policies prohibited him from commenting on ongoing investigations and cases, but he did offer insight into the report.
“As to online scams, each investigation is unique, and the FBI will consider the facts to determine if a federal criminal violation occurred and proceed as appropriate, Merrill said.
Merrill said the FBI initiates and investigates crimes on a daily basis involving criminal activities on computers and the internet, successfully solving and helping to prosecute incidents of online frauds or scams.
“Unfortunately, victims over the age of 60 are still being targeted, as evidenced in this report,” he said. “We encourage every family member to educate and protect their kupunas. We also encourage everyone to be vigilant about cyber scams that are running rampant in Hawaii. If it looks too good to be true, it most likely is a scam.”
Internet crime and the vulnerability of American networks and computer systems is a top priority for President Joe Biden’s administration as the potential for catastrophic cyber assaults by Russian and Chinese state actors are high amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received a record 847,376 reported complaints in 2021, which was a 7% increase from 2020. The potential losses are more than $6.9 billion, with ransomware, business email compromise schemes and the criminal use of cryptocurrency among the top incidents reported, according to the FBI.
In 2021, business email compromise schemes resulted in 19,954 complaints, with an adjusted loss of nearly $2.4 billion.
“These cyber attacks compromised businesses in an extensive array of business sectors as well as the American public,” said Paul Abbate, FBI deputy director, in a statement issued with the report. “As the cyber threat evolves and becomes increasingly intertwined with traditional foreign intelligence threats and emerging technologies, the FBI continues to leverage our unique authorities and partnerships to impose risks and consequences on our nation’s cyber adversaries.”
On Monday, the White House released a statement urging citizens, businesses and organizations to bolster their cybersecurity and fortify their networks “based on evolving intelligence that the Russian government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks.”
“This is a critical moment to accelerate our work to improve domestic cybersecurity and bolster our national resilience,” said Biden, in a statement. “I have previously warned about the potential that Russia could conduct malicious cyber activity against the United States, including as a response to the unprecedented economic costs we’ve imposed on Russia alongside our allies and partners. It’s part of Russia’s playbook.”
On Thursday, the Justice Department unsealed two indictments accusing four Russian nationals who worked for the Russian government of participating in two separate conspiracies to hack critical networks supporting the global energy sector between 2012 and 2018. The hacking campaigns focused on hundreds of companies and organizations, and targeted thousands of computers in about 135 countries, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Russian state-sponsored hackers pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and around the world,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, in a statement announcing the indictments.
Access to the computer networks of energy systems, like power plants, nuclear reactors and oil refineries, would have provided the Russian government the ability to disrupt and damage such computer systems at a future time of its choosing,” according to the FBI.
The hackers targeting the energy companies — Pavel Aleksandrovich Akulov, 36, Mikhail Mikhailovich Gavrilov, 42, and Marat Valeryevich Tyukov , 39, all of the Federal Security Service — were members of a Center 16 operational unit known among cybersecurity researchers as “Dragonfly,” “Berzerk Bear,” “Energetic Bear” and “Crouching Yeti.”
A fourth man, Evgeny Viktorovich Gladkikh, 36, a computer programmer employed by the Russian Ministry of Defense, allegedly tried to hack industrial control systems and the operational technology of global energy facilities using techniques designed to let Russia cause future physical damage “with potentially catastrophic effects,” according to DOJ and court documents.
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BY THE NUMBERS
$5M: Amount lost by Hawaii residents through investment scams in 2021
$4.19M: Amount lost through cons where fake online identities are used to gain a victim’s affection and confidence
235: Cases of people who lost money through online billing issues or did not receive what they paid for
Source: 2021 FBI Internet Crime Report
Hawaii Internet Crimes 2021 by Honolulu Star-Advertiser
