Cybercrime Statistics 2026
A regularly updated reference of the most-cited cybercrime figures — global costs, reported losses, and the trends behind them. Every number links to its primary source.
Estimated annual global cost of cybercrime in 2025
Cybersecurity VenturesLosses reported to the FBI’s IC3 in 2024 (+33% YoY)
FBI IC3 2024Cybercrime complaints filed with the FBI’s IC3 in 2024
FBI IC3 2024Breaches involving a non-malicious human element
Verizon DBIR 2024The global cost of cybercrime
Cybersecurity Ventures estimates that cybercrime cost the world $10.5 trillion annually in 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2015 — growth of roughly 15% a year. If it were a country, cybercrime would rank as the world's third-largest economy after the US and China. The same forecast expects costs to reach $12.2 trillion by 2031.
Reported losses (United States, FBI IC3)
The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recorded 859,532 complaints in 2024 and more than $16.6 billion in reported losses — a 33% increase over 2023. Among complaints reporting an actual loss, the average was about $19,372.
- Most complaints: phishing/spoofing, extortion, and personal data breaches.
- Biggest losses: investment fraud — especially crypto — at over $6.5 billion.
How breaches happen
Verizon's 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 68% of breaches involved a non-malicious human element (someone falling for social engineering or making an error), and about a third (32%) involved ransomware or extortion — with a median reported loss of roughly $46,000 per ransomware breach.
What this means for you
The headline trend is consistent: losses keep rising, and most incidents still start with a person being tricked. A few habits cut the risk dramatically — a password manager, multi-factor authentication, a reputable VPN on public Wi-Fi, and healthy skepticism toward unexpected messages.
See our guides to the best password managers, the best VPNs, and identity theft protection to get started.
Sources
- Cybersecurity Ventures — Official Cybercrime Report
- FBI IC3 — 2024 Internet Crime Report (PDF)
- Verizon — Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR)
Figures are drawn from the cited reports and reflect their most recent editions at the time of writing. We refresh this page as new reports are published.