Scam victims lost almost $13 million

More than 2,600 New Mexico victims of internet scams reported losing almost $13 million in 2021, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The latest IC3 annual report listed 2,644 victims in New Mexico, with total losses of$12,761.850. Business email compromise/email account compromise scams accounted for $2.7 million in losses, followed by confidence fraud/romance scams at almost $2 million.

“This report should be a wakeup call for everyone who uses the internet,” said Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the Albuquerque FBI Division. “What is particularly heart-breaking is the large number of our older New Mexico residents who were victimized. The FBI is working overtime to identify and stop these scammers, but the public can help us by immediately reporting suspected criminal internet activity to ic3.gov.”