The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's (FinCEN) financial trend analysis noted that ransomware filings in the first six months of 2021 exceeded the total of all filings in 2020. Their analysis says, "In 2020, the IC3 received 2,474 complaints identified as ransomware with adjusted losses of over $29.1 million. In the first six months of 2021, FinCEN identified $590 million in ransomware-related SARs, a 42 percent increase compared to a total of $416 million for all of 2020." They also reported the, "…mean average total monthly suspicious amount of ransomware transactions was $66.4 million and the median average was $45 million."

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reflected a 20% increase in reported ransomware incidents and a 225% increase in ransom amounts in 2020. Clearly, this type of cybercrime is not going away anytime soon. Hopefully, the information in our Fraud Insights articles have shed a light on the seriousness of this cybercrime. Take advantage of the resources listed below: 

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), together with federal partners, launched https://www.cisa.gov/stopransomware. The website intends to be a one-stop source to learn about ransomware and learn how to effectively prevent becoming a ransomware victim. It was designed for anyone and everyone to use. 

Victims may report an intrusion and request technical assistance to one of the following: 

U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
cisaservicedesk@cisa.dhs.gov
888.282.0870  

Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
FBI's cyber division
CyWatch@fbi.gov
855.292.3937 

Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
https://www.ic3.gov/

Victims may also contact a local FBI field office. The local field office of the U.S. Secret Service is another source. 

Keep in mind every single person can make a difference. More than 90% of all successful attacks are the result of a person opening the virtual door and letting the hackers in. If each person simply uses strong, unique passwords, multi-factor authentication and installs all security patches and software updates in a timely manner, the criminal's success rate would drop significantly. Do your part and be cyber smart.

Article provided by contributing author:
Diana Hoffman
Corporate Escrow Administrator
Fidelity National Title Group
National Escrow Administration