Incogni’s analysis of the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)’s 2024 Report Shows Data Exposure Fueled $4.2B in Elder Fraud Losses
Incogni, a leading personal data removal service and data privacy company, released a new report that analyzes internet-based crimes targeting Americans aged 60 and older. Incogni’s researchers analyzed the FBI IC3’s newly released 2024 Internet Crime Report, examining year-over-year trends and the role of online personal data availability in the occurrence and severity of elder fraud. Of the 113,906 crimes involving elders reported in 2024, 72% were driven by the availability of victims’ personal data online.
Online elder fraud increased significantly last year, with the FBI IC3 reporting record-high numbers of complaints and financial losses. Data brokers and ‘people search’ sites have contributed significantly to the problem by making personal data (including street and email address, phone number, family members’ names, job history and and more) available to fraudsters at very low cost.
Key Insights of the Incogni report include:
- Financial losses increased by 43% YoY (year over year), to almost $4.9B in 2024.
- Out of the total of 113,906 crimes involving older victims (aged 60+ years) reported in 2024, 72% (approx. 82,000 reported crimes) were facilitated by the availability of victims’ personal data online.
- Phishing and spoofing were the most prevalent types of cybercrime reported by elders in 2024, reported a total of 23.3K times—a 700% increase YoY.
- Investment scams had the highest loss-to-report ratio and were associated with losses amounting to $1.83B, or a staggering $194,100 per complaint.
- In 2024, Texas senior citizens suffered the greatest average losses per complaint ($51.7 K), followed closely by those residing in Georgia and California, where reported losses per complaint averaged over $48.2K and $46K, respectively.
“The fact that 72% of elder‑targeted cybercrimes are enabled by personal data exposure should be a national wake‑up call,” said Darius Belejevas, Head of Incogni. “The unchecked circulation of sensitive personal information is fueling a crisis that costs older Americans billions every year. This crisis must be solved through regulated personal data protections. In the meantime, vulnerable individuals can take preventive measures, such as having their personal information removed from circulation.”
