Which Country Has the Most Cybercrime Per Capita? It's Not the US

pcmag.com:

Each year, the sheer number of online crimes increases across the globe. Sometimes people fall victim because they’re not watching their personal data closely enough; but often, the companies that collect and store that data are breached, exposing millions of potential victims to criminals. 

Surfshark took a wholesale look at cybercrime and how it has affected the entire world. Using information sourced from the FBI from 2015 through 2021 (as well as other sources cited in the report), the company determined the extent and density of cybercrimes across the globe. (Surfshark defines "cybercrime density" as the number of cybercrime victims per 1 million internet users.)

Here's one sobering finding: The top 10 countries plagued by data breaches between 2020 and 2021 are listed in the graphic below. You can see that the US, with 1,494 affected internet users per million, is second only to Great Britain, which suffered a staggering 4,783 victims per million.

Surfshark also calculated how various flavors of cybercrime impacted victims. In 2021, half of the total number of victims fell for a phishing scam. While phishing is the most common scam, though, it's not the costliest. Investment fraud was by far the leading money-maker, with total losses near $1.5 billion; average loss per victim was $70,811.

Check the full report for more information, including an interactive data vulnerability "thermometer" and a cybercrime "encyclopedia" that defines various types of scams. And bookmark our story, 12 Simple Things You Can Do to Be More Secure Online, for our best tips.

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