Responding to Online Fraud

Online fraud is an extremely common, and financially and emotionally devastating crime. Victims fall prey to a number of criminal schemes including purchasing fictional goods from fraudulent online postings and having their computer keystrokes captured and used to, among other things, access bank accounts and create false purchasing accounts. With the nation’s increased dependence on online activity, evidence shows that the rates of these crimes has skyrocketed in the last decade. 

Services and support for victims of online fraud is a new and relatively unexplored area. Victims of such crimes face numerous barriers in accessing services and support to recover from the crime and asserting their rights in the justice system. These barriers include lack of awareness among victim service providers of the prevalence and nature of online fraud, the complexity of investigating these convoluted schemes, and the dearth of resources specifically targeting the victims. To address gaps in the victim services field in meeting the needs of victims of online fraud, NCVLI has received a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime to launch the Responding to Online Fraud Project.

To learn more about the Responding to Online Fraud Project, click here.

For more information about online fraud resources, click here.

For victim assistance, call NCVLI toll free at 1-888-768-6556

This project is funded by Grant No. 2009-VF-GX-K020, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.