Florida: the land of sunny skies, sandy shores, and …scams?
A new study reveals Florida has become one of the nation’s most vulnerable states to cybercrime, with residents losing an average of $749 million annually from 2021 to 2023. This translates to an average per-person loss of $34.
The study, which synthesized data from the FBI’s 2023 Internet Crime Report, found that 2023 was the state’s worst year on record, with losses reaching $847.7 million. According to the report, Florida’s high numbers are no surprise, given its large populations of tourists and retirees who are often targeted by online scams.
While Florida ranks highly for cybercrime, it is surpassed nationally by California, which leads the nation with a yearly average loss of over $1.8 billion.
From foreigners who are looking to click and explore just about anything to older folks who are more susceptible to tricks by savvy web criminals, Florida gives these online surfers an ideal pool of people to scam.
Though Floridians have definitely taken a hit, California tops the nation with over a $1.8 billion yearly average loss ($46 loss per capita). Talk about a hit…
Closely following The Golden State is Nevada at $137 million ($43 lost per capita), South Dakota at $34 million ($37 lost per capita), and New York at $695 million ($35 lost per capita).
So what can Floridians do? Here are the FBI’s cybersafety tips:
• Keep systems and software up to date and install a strong, reputable anti-virus program.
• Be careful when connecting to a public Wi-Fi network and do not conduct any sensitive transactions, including purchases, when on a public network.
• Create a strong and unique passphrase for each online account.
• Set up multi-factor authentication on all accounts that allow it.
Examine the email address in all correspondence and scrutinize website URLs before responding to a message or visiting a site
• Don’t click on anything in unsolicited emails or text messages.
• Be cautious about the information you share in online profiles and social media accounts. Sharing things like pet names, schools, and family members can give scammers the hints they need to guess your passwords or the answers to your account security questions.
• Don’t send payments to unknown people or organizations that are seeking monetary support and urge immediate action.
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