resulting in 1,676 indictments/informations*

736 convictions

2,690 healthcare fraud cases G

$1.2 billion in 

restitution orders

$1 billion 

in fines

$1 billion in 

civil settlements

resulting in 1,223 indictments/informations*

1,082 convictions

2,691 mortgage fraud cases G

$1.4 billion in 

restitution orders

$116.3 million

in fines

In 2011, the FBI investigated:

$36 million

in recoveries

resulting in 520 indictments/informations*

394 convictions

1,846 securities fraud cases G

$8.8 billion 

in restitution 

orders

$113 million 

in fines

$751 million

in forfeitures

> 47% of identity theft victims who 

spent 6+ months resolving financial or 

credit problems experienced severe

emotional distress as a result E

emotional other

> 65% of victims experienced at least 

one type of non-financial cost

(e.g., stress, health problems, trouble 

sleeping) to a serious degree D

nonfinancial other

> 29% of victims estimate incurring 

$1,000+ in indirect financial costs, 

(e.g., late fees, legal fees, lost wages) D

indirect other

Financial 

Crime

Economic and financial crimes cost 

American individuals and businesses 

billions of dollars every year. Various forms 

of fraud—including mortgage, health 

care, mass marketing, and securities 

and commodities fraud—can generate 

massive losses to individual and corporate 

victims. Researchers widely believe that 

financial crime is underreported, and these 

crimes can be difficult to investigate and 

prosecute. Successfully prosecuted fraud 

cases, however, can result in billions of 

dollars in criminal restitution, fines, and civil 

settlements, as well as millions of dollars in 

seizures and civil restitution.

NOTE: Hover for data hyperlinks to source material.

Fraud

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

The FTC received 1.5 million fraud-related complaints 

in 2014, with losses totaling $1.7 billionB

Fraud costs $40-50 billion

annually in direct, measurable costs A

An FTC survey estimated that, in 2011, 37.8 million 

incidents of fraud affected 25.6 million people 

(10.8% of U.S. adults) C

more likely to have 2.5x experienced fraud C

Victims who recently experienced a serious negative

 life event were

govt

cc

phone

bank

employment ID

The FBI conducted 2,001

white collar prosecutions in 2013:F

Mortgage (12.0%)

Financial institution (17.7%)

Healthcare (11.0%)

Securities (4.8%)

Other (54.5%)
Identity theft is a crime that involves the illegal access and use of 

an individual’s personal or financial information H

> Identity theft cost victims $24.7 billion in direct and indirect 

(e.g., legal fees, lost wages, bounced checks) losses in 2012E

> 85% of thefts in 2012 involved fraudulent use of an existing 

financial account E

The Internet Crime Complaint Center received 269,422 complaints in 

2014, responsible for $800.5 million in losses:I

Fewer than 1 in 10 identity theft victims 

(about 9%) reported the incident to police in 2012E

16.6 million people, or 7% of the population 

age 16+, were victims of identity theft in 2012E

Identity Theft Internet-based Financial Crimes

NOTES

*An indictment is when a grand jury agrees that 

a prosecutor has enough evidence to try the 

defendant. An information is when a prosecutor files 

charging documents directly with the court, and a 

judge determines whether the case goes to trial.

SOURCES

A Fraud Research Center, Scams, Schemes & 

Swindles: A Review of Consumer Financial 

Fraud Research, http://fraudresearchcenter.org/

wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Scams-SchemesSwindles-FINAL-On-Website.pdf

B FTC, Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, 2014,

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/

consumer-sentinel-network-data-book-januarydecember-2014/sentinel-cy2014-1.pdf

C Keith B. Anderson, “Consumer Fraud in the 

United States, 2011: The Third FTC Survey,” 

(Washington, DC: Bureau of Economics, Federal 

Trade Commission, 2013), http://www.ftc.

gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/

consumer-fraud-united-states-2011-third-ftcsurvey/130419fraudsurvey_0.pdf

D FINRA Investor Education Foundation, NonTraditional Costs of Financial Fraud, http://

www.saveandinvest.org/sites/default/files/

Non-Traditional-Costs-Of-Financial-Fraud-SurveyFindings.pdf

E Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime 

Victimization Survey Identity Theft Supplement, 

2012: Victims of Identity Theft, (Washington, DC: U.S. 

Department of Justice, 2013), http://www.bjs.gov/

content/pub/pdf/vit12.pdf

F Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Slump 

in FBI White Collar Crime Prosecutions, http://trac.

syr.edu/tracreports/crim/331

G Federal Bureau of Investigation, Financial Crimes 

Report to Public: Fiscal Years 2010−2011, 

(Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2012), 

http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/

financial-crimes-report-2010-2011/financial-crimesreport-2010-2011.pdf

H National Center for Victims of Crime, Taking 

Action: An Advocate’s Guide to Assisting Victims of 

Financial Fraud, (Washington, DC: 2013), https://

www.saveandinvest.org/file/document/takingaction-advocates-guide-assisting-victims-financialfraud

I Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2014 Internet 

Crime Report, (National White Collar Crime Center, 

2015), https://www.fbi.gov/news/news_blog/2014-

ic3-annual-report

Most Common Types of Identity Theft in 2014:B

govt 

cc 

phone 

bank 

employment ID 

loan 

other 

Credit card theft (17%)

Government documents/

benefits fraud (39%)

Phone/utilities fraud (13%)

Bank fraud (8%)

Employment-related 

identity fraud (5%)

Loan fraud (4%)

Other (14%)

$19.8 $16.3

$86.7

$11.3

$56.2

Most costly scams in 2014 (in millions of dollars) I

Auto fraud

Romance scams 

Real estate fraud

Intimidation/extortion scams

Government impersonation scam

303,809 314,246 289,974 262,813 269,422

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

IC3 reports over last 5 years I

As household income

increases, residents are 

more likely to become 

victims of identity theft: E

10% of people residing in households 

with an annual income of $75K+

experienced identity theft in 2012

4.9% of people in households with 

an annual income ≤$24,999

vs