Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1472190
46 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2022 tries receiving fraudulent transfers. Based on the financial data reported to the IC3 for 2021, banks located in ailand and Hong Kong were the primary international des- tinations of fraudulent funds. China, which ranked in the top two destinations in previ- ous years, ranked third in 2021, followed by Mexico and Singapore. The following BEC/EAC statistics were reported to the FBI IC3 law enforcement and derived from filings with financial institutions between June 2016 and December 2021 (see sidebar). BEC and Cryptocurrency e IC3 has received an increased number of BEC complaints involving the use of crypto- currency. Cryptocurrency is a form of virtual asset that uses cryptography (the use of coded messages to secure communications) to secure financial transactions and is popular among illicit actors due to the high degree of anonym- ity associated with it and the speed at which transactions occur. e IC3 tracked two iterations of the BEC scam where cryptocurrency was utilized by criminals. A direct transfer to a cryptocurrency exchange (CE) or a "second hop" transfer to a CE. In both situations, the victim is unaware that the funds are being sent to be converted to cryptocurrency. Direct transfer: Mirrors the traditional pat- tern of BEC incidents in the past (Figure 1). Second hop transfer: Uses victims of other cyber-enabled scams such as extortion, tech Figure 1: Example of a direct transfer method. Domestic and international incidents: 241,206 Domestic and international exposed dollar loss: $43,312,749,946 The following BEC/EAC statistics were reported in victim complaints to the IC3 between October 2013 and December 2021: Total U.S. victims: 116,401 Total U.S. exposed dollar loss: $14,762,978,290 Total non-U.S. victims: 5,260 Total non-U.S. exposed dollar loss: $1,277,131,099 The following statistics were reported in victim complaints to the IC3 between June 2016 and December 2021: Total U.S. financial recipients: 59,324 Total U.S. financial recipient exposed dollar loss: $9,153,274,323 Total non-U.S. financial recipients: 19,731 Total non-U.S. financial recipient exposed dollar loss: $7,859,268,158