Cybercrime is costing South Carolinians millions of dollars each year as scams become more advanced and harder to detect.
Eric Larsen with the FBI Columbia Field Office says cybercrime happens when criminals target people through phones, email, or online platforms for financial gain.
“When we look at cyber crimes here at the FBI, we’re looking at people that are adversaries, that are targeting victims, typically for some type of gain, whether that’s financial or influence or otherwise,” Larsen said.
Larsen says the increase in cases since 2024 comes from both better public awareness and criminals expanding their reach.
“Fraudsters, cyber targeting has increased. We’re seeing a lot more targeted effort in the fraud realm here, whether that’s getting more advanced or using AI to target folks in larger volumes, we’re seeing an increase in victims,” Larsen said.
Officials say scams are showing up in several forms, including investment fraud, business email compromise, tech support scams, and government impersonation schemes.
Jonathan Williams with the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office says one common scam starts with something as simple as a text message that builds trust over time.
“So the most common fraud that we’re seeing right now … someone might get a text message, and it says, ‘Hi, are we still having dinner tonight?’ and somebody might respond, and it starts this ball rolling where folks are being pulled in to a relationship or a friendship with someone,” said Jonathan Williams, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General.
Williams says scammers often build trust before asking for money, and older adults are frequently targeted.
“Older adults have resources. They have retirement funds, and so those are the targets that the bad guys are going after,” Williams said.
Larsen says prevention starts with what he calls good cyber hygiene.
“I think the first is good cyber hygiene. Making sure you’re using multi-factor authentication, strong passwords, and then take a breath. Slow down, and make sure what you’re being asked to do makes sense,” Larsen said.
Larsen also urges people to verify suspicious messages before responding or sending money.
“If it’s too good to be true, it probably is,” Larsen added.
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