Business Checks

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Internet fraud cases surged by 22% in 2009, and financial losses doubled compared to the year before as scammers took advantage of Americans rendered desperate by the recession.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center said it received 336,655 complaints in 2009 with losses totaling $559.7 million. This is a substantial increase from 275,284 complaints in 2008, when the losses totaled $265 million.

“A certain level of desperation might sink in, and you might take that leap, where you wouldn’t before,” he said. “We’ve seen an increase in the number of complaints with fraud with a high price tag attached to them.”

Also, he said that scammers are becoming savvier, stealing identities on social networking sites and propositioning your online friends for money.

“We’re seeing that the criminals are using new and diverse tactics to reach out to people,” Kane said. “They’ll take over your account and then use your identity to ask money from friends for an emergency. Instead of coming from a stranger, it’s coming from someone who is supposedly your friend.”

He said the FBI has cracked down on fraudulent activity through auction sites such as eBay, but fraudsters have quickly moved on and been “setting up shop” on other popular Web sites, such as Craigslist. Dont give out any of your personal or business checks information as it will be a bad result.