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The Monetary Loss from Internet Crime Doubled in 2009 (Source: 2009 IC3 Internet Crime Report)

As reported on the Click blog in Investors Business Daily, the dollar amount of internet crime more than doubled in 2009 to $559.7 million from $264.6 million in 2008.  According to the original report of the Internet Crime Complaint Center, e-mail scams in which the scammer pretended to be affiliated with the FBI to gain information from a target accounted for 16.6% of all complaints.  (Left unasked: Why would anyone think that e-mail would be the preferred method of contact for any law enforcement body?  Folks, it is probably safe to ignore FBI e-mails – they’ll call or pay you a visit if they need to contact you.)

This doubling of the monetary value of referred complaints can be partially explained by better law enforcement integration allowing for greater referral to the right administrative body.  But clearly, this one year rise is concerning.

Other interesting information:

• Men didn’t come out looking all that great compared with the fairer sex: most perpetrators (76.6%) and complainants (54%) were men, and men lost $1.51 for every $1.00 lost by women.
• Some common type of scams included the “Hitman Scam” (extortionary threats of violence), the “Economic Stimulus Scam” (directing the victim to file application fees to receive government stimulus money) and “Job Site” scams.
• Sarah Palin’s complaints about Washington DC ring true: As if the public perception of our Nation’s Capital could get worse, Washington, DC leads in perpetrators per capita with 116 per 100,000 people.  California is first in total number of perpetrators and complainants.  And Alaska is the runaway winner in complainants per 100,000 with 485.91 (compared to runner-up New Jersey with 166.74).

The complete report can be found at the Internet Crime Complaint Center or at this link: 2009_IC3Report.

Not the best (I liked the Coke commercials), but probably the one most remembered in ten years – Audi joking about a dystopian Green Police state.

The commercial caused some environmentalists to gasp – in a time when unpopular perceived economy killers such as cap and trade are being bandied about in the name of saving the environment, a picture of government overreach cannot be helpful.

Jonah Goldberg thinks that some conservatives will be upset by the light-hearted way the issue is framed.

I think the message of the Audi commercial is distinctly un-American – you are better off negotiating your own exception to the rules of the police state, and Audi will help you do that.  Audi owners can flaunt their green badge of a car as the new American nomenklatura.

The commercial is brilliant if deeply cynical.  In German history, the Green Police was the name for uniformed Nazi Police Officers who may have been involved in facilitating the Holocaust.  That such dystopian visions can reach the zeitgeist through a humorous Super Bowl commercial is disquieting.

And unfortunately for Audi, will probably not help it sell any cars.