Alaska leads US states in the rate of cybercrime complaints

Measuring crime, including cybercrime, is a challenging problem that relies on a combination of direct crime reports to the government — which has known issues of under-reporting — and assessment via carefully designed self-report surveys.¹ Despite often being underreported, cybercrime is significantly increasing in both frequency and severity.

In 2023, the FBI documented a record 880,418 cybercrime complaints, with potential losses exceeding $12.5 billion. As global internet reliance grows, so does the risk of cybercrime. In this chart, Surfshark’s research hub examines cybercrime in Alaska, which leads US states in cybercrime complaints per 100,000 internet users.

Key insights

• In 2023, Alaska ranked first among the 50 US states in cybercrime complaints received per 100,000 internet users, with over 500 complaints per 100,000 internet users — more than twice the average across all 50 states. According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), billions of dollars were lost to cybercrime in the US, with Alaska alone accounting for nearly $32 million. This amounts to an average of over $13,000 per complaint. Compared to 2022, the average loss in Alaska increased by approximately 24%, and the overall financial loss nearly doubled.
• In examining different types of cybercrimes, Alaska’s top three by victim count were extortion, personal data breaches, and non-payment/non-delivery incidents. Approximately 40 out of every 100,000 internet users in Alaska fell victim to extortion. This type of cybercrime involves the unlawful extraction of money or property through intimidation or undue exercise of authority, which may include threats of physical harm, criminal prosecution, or public exposure. Similarly, about 36 of every 100,000 internet users experienced personal data breaches. This occurs when personal data is leaked or spilled from a secure location to an untrusted environment, involving a security incident where an individual's sensitive, protected, or confidential data is copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen, or used by an unauthorized individual. Additionally, 29 of every 100,000 internet users became victims of non-payment/non-delivery cybercrimes. In these cases, goods or services are shipped, but payment is never rendered (non-payment), or payment is sent, but goods or services are never received or are of lesser quality (non-delivery).
• However, none of these cybercrimes were among those that resulted in the most significant financial losses. According to the data, Business Email Compromise (BEC) was the most costly cybercrime overall and on average for Alaskans. On average, there was a financial loss of over $180,000 per victim. BEC is a scam targeting businesses or individuals working with suppliers and/or businesses regularly performing wire transfer payments. These sophisticated scams are carried out by fraudsters by compromising email accounts and other forms of communication, such as phone numbers and virtual meeting applications, through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to conduct unauthorized transfer of funds.
• In 2023, the age group with the highest number of cybercrime victims was those aged 30-39, accounting for over 47% of all identified victims for whom age data was available. However, this group does not stand out in terms of average financial loss per victim. The most vulnerable age group experiencing the highest financial losses — averaging over $29,000 per victim — was individuals over 60. Their losses accounted for more than 43% of all identified victims with available age data. In 2023, Alaskans aged 60 and older represented more than 21% of the state’s total population. This age group has seen significant growth, with a 73% increase between April 2010 and July 2023.² According to the data, BEC was also the most costly cybercrime overall and on average for senior Alaskans. For seniors, the financial loss was nearly $400,000 per victim, more than double the average loss for all Alaskans.

Methodology and sources

Data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Report 2023 (the most current available) were used to determine the number of reported incidents by state. This information was subsequently combined with internet user data from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to calculate the number of cybercrimes per 100,000 adult internet users. Additionally, data was gathered on the number of victims of various types of cybercrimes and their financial losses, along with some demographic insights.

Data was collected from:

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