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OHIO — Falling victim to an internet scam is affecting more people in Ohio every year, with the coronavirus pandemic apparently exacerbating the problem nationwide.
In Ohio, 243,000 people fell victim to reported online scams in 2020, a 19 percent increase from the 204,000 reported in 2019, according to Comparitech, a technology research company that analyzed data from the Federal Trade Commission, Better Business Bureau, Finance Crimes Enforcement Network and Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Ohio is part of a national trend that saw an increase in Americans who reported online scams, from 3.8 million to 4.77 million from 2019 to 2020 — a 25 percent increase, according to Comparitech. Approximately, 21 victims per 1,000 people in Ohio were reported in 2020, up from 17.52 in 2019, Comparitech found.
Scam victims in Ohio were out $247.1 million in 2020, compared with $315 million in 2019, according to Comparitech. The lost dollars in Ohio are part of…
