Nevada On Top Of Another List We Don’t Want To Be On

Spend enough time on the internet and you are bound to come across a scam. They are everywhere! Your email inbox. In your DMs. Even ads on legitimate websites like Facebook and Instagram can result in you losing your money.

Well according to a new report by ThirdPartyTrust, it turns out that Nevadans have more cybercrime than any other state! Why can't we be #1 on a list of cutest puppies or education?

Over 1,000 people were surveyed nationwide, and the Silver State won gold in being the most digitally bamboozled. There are a lot of flavors of cybercrime though. Our favorite? Identity theft. The report estimates Nevadans lost nearly $128,000,000 to cybercrime alone. With nearly 20,000 victims, that's around $6,500 lost per person. Brutal.

Why losing over six grand to a scam is bad, thankfully we aren't screwed over as much as other states. Victims in New York, California and Connecticut lost an average of $21,000 each based on the survey's findings. But they do not hold a candle to North Dakota. South Dakota's hat lost $32,016 on average for each victim surveyed! That's a lot of scratch.

It can be a tough go trying to traverse the internet. Even tougher watching our parents attempt to navigate the web without falling into obvious (or less than obvious) traps. While it's funny to laugh at the "Nigerian prince" emails that we continue to see automatically filter to our spam folder, scammers have refined their tactics and are even fooling the more savvy among us.

Learn more about how Nevada and the country is affected by, and how to avoid internet scams, below. Maybe send this to the gullible people in your life so they know what to look for. If you don't know who that is, it's you.

The survey found that 637 out of every 100,000 people were a victim of cybercrime last year. That's significantly higher than the United States average of 170 victims per 100k. The average number of victims nationwide is 11,752, but in Nevada it's flirting dangerously with 20,000.

Interestingly, the survey's map found the entire west coast, Texas, and northern states from Iowa to Massachusetts to be the most victimized. The "south" (from Kansas to Georgia) were less affected.

Losing money to a scam is terrible and the average victim in Nevada lost $6468. While that's awful, it's among the lowest losses by state reaching 41st on the survey. The states with the victims losing the most?

Some states were luckier than others. These are the states that lost the least amount...

There are many different forms of cybercrimes. Nevada ends up falling victim to identity theft most, according to the survey. A bad actor gets your personal info (either from you, or from a hack of a website with poor security), and uses that to steal money, get your confidential info, or commit other types of fraud with your name. Open accounts, steal your tax return, the works.

Identity theft is just one category of cybercrime. There is also phishing emails which look like they are coming from a legitimate source like your bank or a store you like. But once you click, you're taken to a nefarious site looking to steal your information.

There's also malware and viruses that can make your computer or device stop working correctly. When you call the phone number from your supposed "Microsoft anti-virus software", it's a bad guy on the other end of the line that's trying to part a fool with their money. Don't fall for it. Be careful where you click, generally.

The most common scam found from the survey is non-payment/non-delivery scams. They are the reverse of the same situation. Non-delivery is buying something online from a sketch website, and never receiving it despite them having been paid. The reverse is non-payment, when you send something and they don't pay you.

The most down and dirty one is confidence or romance fraud, where a lonely heart on the internet is targeted. Then slowly and methodically the victim gains a real connection, is then fooled into believing their new love is in need. They open their wallets like they open their heart.

If it has happened to you, it's little solace to know you are not alone. The survey found the average participant was scammed twice online. Over half of people surveyed, 58%, have been a victim.

There is no "silver bullet" that'll protect you, but there are several smaller things you can do that will make a big impact.

There are other options as well, including using a password manager. But if they gain access to that manager, they've got all the keys. So, be weary and cautious and dodge the next scam thrown your way.