Illinois Slammed by a Quarter Billion Dollars of Cybercrime Theft

If you live in Illinois and have never been a victim of cybercrime theft, you are apparently the exception and not the rule. New data shows that cybercrime is so common in Illinois that the state was ripped off by over a quarter billion dollars in just one year.

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You can have whatever opinion you want about how prevalent that cybercrime in Illinois is, but this is cold, hard data shared by 24/7 Wall St. They grabbed numbers from the most recent FBI internet crime report which includes all the online crime for 2022 since the numbers from 2023 aren't final yet. What it reveals about cybercrime in Illinois is staggering.

The total cybercrime losses for Illinois was $266.7 million.

The state of Illinois had a grand total of 14,786 victims who lost over $18,000 on average. That's a lot of Illinoisans losing a lot of money. Sad.

How can you avoid being a cybercrime victim?

I am a certified tech, but don't pretend that I know it all (to say the least). WikiHow shared some great general things you can do to avoid getting "hacked" (an overused word, by the way).

1. Don't use public networks. Your browser info and even passwords can be at great risk for evil people that are looking for victims on these networks.

2. Don't use public computers for anything involving private information. If you go to a library or cybercafe and don't have your own digital device, do not input ANY personal information into them. Keystroke loggers are common and an easy way to become a victim of even violent crime if an evil person gets your home address.

3. Don't go to questionable sites. You likely know the type of sites I'm referring to, but if you don't, some sites that share naughty things are notorious for having viruses and malware. If you go there, you almost begging to get ripped off.