Small-Time Cybercrime Is Growing, and Local Law Enforcement Is Not Ready

Summary

The article argues that cybercrime is increasingly attractive to small-time criminals, who target individuals with fraud and identity theft, and that local law enforcement needs more cyber-investigation skills to respond.

Key points

• The FBI's IC3 received 847,376 complaints in 2021, with victims losing a little over $8,000 on average.
• IC3 complaints rose by more than 60% from 2019 to 2020 and increased further in 2021.
• The article describes criminals shifting toward fraud and identity theft, including buying stolen personal data and committing benefits fraud.
• Smaller crimes can be easier to monetize and less likely to attract federal law-enforcement attention than large-scale theft.
• Local police face a skills gap: cybercrime investigations require analyzing digital evidence and linking transactions to build forensic cases.
• The author recommends identifying investigative talent within police departments and building ties with local schools and computer science programs.

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