GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) — The FBI is working to raise awareness of cyber threats and urge victims to report cybercrimes during Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October.“These scams and these threats just continue to grow,” Amanda Knutson said.Knutson, FBI Milwaukee, assistant special agent in charge, is with the FBI cyber squad.Complaints and lossesThe FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center tracked more than 1 million complaints in 2025, with losses surpassing $20 billion. (Read the IC3 2025 annual report.)“It’s very concerning. And that’s why it’s a major priority for the FBI to go after cyber criminals,” Knutson said.Knutson said the complaints are “really just what’s reported to us, which is a small fraction of what’s actually happening out there.”“People should not be embarrassed if they fall victim to some of these scams,” Knutson said. “They’re very sophisticated. They’re very believable and it’s happening all the time.”Victims describe scamsVictims have shared stories with Action 2 News. A Winnebago County woman named Mary lost money in a gold scam that started with a computer pop-up.“Forty years’ worth of savings. And it’s gone,” Mary said in July.In October, a Brown County woman named Jan received a fake pop-up alert on her iPhone.“It said that I was completely blocked due to pornography, and I’m like what?!” Jan said. A follow-up text message with an FBI logo convinced her to call.Verifying contacts and reportingKnutson said an image or seal does not necessarily mean a message is affiliated with the FBI.“It’s very easy to create, and it’s just a way to manipulate people into believing that it’s legitimate,” Knutson said. “Again, taking a pause and verifying who you’re speaking with is who they say they are.”Knutson said skilled cyber criminals change tactics.“These threat actors are really good at manipulating and getting people to believe them,” Knutson said.The FBI emphasized the importance of reporting to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.“Because if you don’t report it, there’s nothing that we can do to help, essentially. And that information can feed into our investigations and help us actually get to the criminals that are responsible,” Knutson said.Copyright 2026 WBAY. All rights reserved.
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