Minnesota FBI director warns of increased cyber attacks against individuals

Minnesota FBI Special Agent in Charge, Michael Paul, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS cybercrime in Minnesota is growing at a “tremendous rate.”

According to the FBI, there were more than 6,000 victims of cybercrimes across the state in 2021, which is a 50% increase since 2019. The total financial losses for businesses and individuals was $82.5 million.

Paul said the internet thieves are targeting individuals more often than in the past, but they also still aggressively go after large corporations and small businesses, too.

“They don’t care whether you’re a big fish, or not, they don’t care whether you’re a corporation, whether you’re a mom-and-pop business or whether you’re self-employed,” said Paul.  “They’re looking at your network and if there is anyone who has this vulnerability, anyone that’s leaving the proverbial backdoor open, they’re going after those folks.”

If you think you’ve become a victim of a cybercrime, the FBI wants you to contact them at its Internet Crime Complaint Center, and if you are a business, large or small, they would like to proactively connect with you to help you avoid internet pirates.