Rome, Jan 4 Italy's Postal Police said that they investigated 18,714 cyber-fraud cases in 2024, resulting in over 181 million euros ($186 million) in stolen funds, both record highs.
In their annual report, the Postal Police said that 26 per cent of the cyber-fraud cases investigated involved fraudulent online trading of securities. Despite being a smaller portion of total cases, these crimes accounted for 80 per cent of the overall value of cyber-fraud.
Fraud linked to electronic commerce made up the largest share at 46 per cent of all cases but represented just 5 per cent of the total stolen funds, Xinhua news agency reported.
The report highlighted a 15 per cent rise in cases compared to the previous year, with the total value of fraud increasing by 32 per cent from 2023.
Despite the surge in cases and financial losses, the number of individuals investigated remained almost unchanged, rising by just ten to 3,581. (1 euro = 1.03 US dollars).
Earlier on July 31, 2024, Xinhua news agency reported that 114 million euros ($123.4 million) were stolen through internet fraud in the first six months of this year in Italy, the country's postal and communication police in charge of cybercrime announced.
The figure marked a 71 per cent increase compared to the total registered in the country in the same period of 2023.
Overall, investigators uncovered around 14,000 incidents of cyber fraud and other online financial crimes from January to June, representing a 10 per cent increase, the police force said.
In their annual report issued in December last year, postal police said some 65 businesses of all sizes were among those affected by cyber frauds in 2023. Sums stolen from such companies last year amounted to over 19 million euros, of which 6 million euros were retrieved by law enforcement agencies.
Cyber fraud is a blanket term to describe crimes committed by cyber attackers via the internet. These crimes are committed with the intent to illegally acquire and leverage an individual's or business’s sensitive information for monetary gain.
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