Which States Have Seen the Biggest Rise in Cybercrime? FBI Data Study

PivIT Strategy analyzed six years of FBI internet crime reports to identify which states experienced the largest increases in reported cybercrime complaints between 2020 and 2025.

Cybercrime continues to create significant financial and operational challenges across the United States. From phishing scams and business email compromise to ransomware and investment fraud, internet-enabled crime affects individuals and businesses in every state.

But where is reported cybercrime growing the fastest?

To answer that question, PivIT Strategy analyzed state-level data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), comparing reported complaints and financial losses between 2020 and 2025.

The findings reveal substantial differences across the country. While states such as California and Texas reported some of the highest complaint totals, several smaller states experienced much faster percentage growth.

South Dakota topped the list, with reported complaints increasing by more than 223% over five years.

FBI-Reported Internet Crime Complaints Surpassed 1 Million in 2025

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 791,790 complaints in 2020. By 2025, that number had increased to 1,008,597, representing a 27.4% increase.

Although reported complaints declined in 2022 and 2024, the overall trend moved upward, reaching a new high in 2025.

The national figures provide context for the state-level analysis. While reported complaints increased nationally, some states experienced substantially faster growth, and two recorded decreases over the same period.

A closer look at state-level figures reveals where reported internet crime has changed most significantly.

Key Findings From PivIT Strategy’s Cybercrime Study

PivIT Strategy’s analysis identified several notable trends:

• South Dakota experienced the fastest percentage growth, with reported complaints increasing 223.6% between 2020 and 2025.
• Texas ranked second, with complaints increasing 153.4%, from 38,640 to 97,912.
• South Carolina ranked third, recording a 151.1% increase.
• Oklahoma ranked fourth, with reported complaints increasing approximately 150%.
• North Carolina ranked ninth, with reported complaints increasing 112.2%.
• West Virginia experienced an approximately 1,821% increase in reported financial losses, highlighting how sharply the financial impact of reported crime can change.
• California recorded the most complaints in 2025, with 116,414, but did not rank among the 10 fastest-growing states by percentage.

These findings measure changes in reported complaint counts, rather than the frequency of confirmed cyberattacks. The rankings are not adjusted for population growth.

The 10 States Where Reported Cybercrime Is Growing the Fastest

The FBI’s state-level figures show that the largest percentage increases in reported cybercrime complaints were not limited to the most populous states.

South Dakota led the country with a 223.6% increase, followed by Texas and South Carolina.

1. South Dakota: 223.6% Increase

South Dakota experienced the largest percentage increase in reported cybercrime complaints among all 50 states.

In 2020, the FBI recorded 777 reported victims in South Dakota. By 2025, the state recorded 2,514 complaints.

Although South Dakota’s overall complaint count remained relatively low compared with larger states, its percentage growth was significantly higher than anywhere else in the country.

This illustrates why examining percentage changes can reveal trends that rankings based solely on total complaints might overlook.

2. Texas: 153.4% Increase

Texas recorded the second-fastest growth in reported cybercrime complaints.

The state’s count increased from 38,640 in 2020 to 97,912 in 2025, representing an additional 59,272 complaints.

Unlike South Dakota, Texas combines rapid percentage growth with a substantial number of total reports.

In 2025, Texas ranked second nationally for total complaints, behind only California.

3. South Carolina: 151.1% Increase

South Carolina ranked third, with reported complaints increasing from 5,853 in 2020 to 14,699 in 2025.

That represents an increase of 8,846 complaints over five years.

South Carolina’s position is particularly notable when considered alongside neighboring North Carolina, which also ranked among the 10 fastest-growing states.

4. Oklahoma: 150.0% Increase

Oklahoma’s reported complaints increased from 4,785 in 2020 to 11,964 in 2025.

The state experienced approximately 150% growth, placing it fourth nationally.

The findings demonstrate that substantial growth in reported internet crime is occurring beyond the country’s largest metropolitan areas.

5. Kansas: 129.3% Increase

Kansas rounded out the top five, recording 7,927 complaints in 2025 compared with 3,457 in 2020.

That represents an increase of approximately 129.3%.

Kansas was one of several states in the central United States that experienced substantial growth in reported complaints during the study period.

Other States Experiencing Rapid Growth in Reported Cybercrime

Beyond the five fastest-growing states, Arizona, West Virginia, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Ohio also experienced substantial increases in reported internet crime complaints between 2020 and 2025.

Arizona ranked sixth, with reported complaints increasing 121.9%, from 13,009 to 28,868.

West Virginia ranked seventh, recording a 121.3% increase. The state also experienced a particularly large increase in reported financial losses during the study period.

New Hampshire ranked eighth, with complaints increasing 117.1%.

North Carolina ranked ninth, recording a 112.2% increase, from 12,223 complaints in 2020 to 25,940 in 2025.

Ohio rounded out the top 10, with reported complaints increasing 105.8%.

These findings demonstrate that substantial growth in reported internet crime occurred across multiple regions of the country, rather than being concentrated in one geographic area.

Which States Have Seen a Decrease in Reported Cybercrime?

While 48 states experienced increases in reported internet crime complaints between 2020 and 2025, Iowa and Nevada moved in the opposite direction.

Iowa recorded the largest decrease, with complaints falling from 9,367 in 2020 to 5,436 in 2025, a decline of 42.0%.

Nevada was the only other state to record a decrease, with complaints falling from 16,110 to 13,366, a decline of 17.0%.

These decreases do not necessarily mean the states have become safer from cybercrime. FBI statistics depend on victims reporting suspected crimes, and differences in reporting behavior or fraud patterns can affect annual totals.

Nevertheless, the declines provide a notable contrast to the widespread increases reported across the rest of the country.

How Cybercrime Complaint Growth Compares Across All 50 States

Although the 10 fastest-growing states provide an important snapshot, examining the entire country reveals a broader picture of reported internet crime trends.

Some states recorded relatively modest percentage increases, while others experienced substantially faster growth.

A nationwide comparison also highlights the distinction between states with high complaint volumes and those experiencing the fastest changes.

 

Financial Losses Reveal Another Side of the Cybercrime Problem

While complaint counts help measure reported internet crime activity, financial losses reveal another dimension of its impact.

Nationally, reported losses increased from approximately $4.2 billion in 2020 to $20.877 billion in 2025.

At the state level, the changes can be particularly dramatic.

West Virginia, for example, recorded an approximately 1,821% increase in reported financial losses over the study period.

However, financial losses can be heavily influenced by a small number of high-value fraud incidents. A substantial increase in losses does not necessarily indicate an equivalent increase in the number of incidents.

Do More Cybercrime Complaints Mean Greater Financial Losses?

States with larger populations and more reported complaints may also report substantial financial losses.

However, complaint volume and financial impact do not always move together.

A state with relatively few complaints could experience significant financial losses because of one or more large-scale fraud cases.

Conversely, a state with a high number of complaints may report comparatively lower losses per complaint.

This comparison demonstrates why evaluating cybercrime solely by the number of reported incidents can overlook important differences in financial impact.

How Artificial Intelligence Is Changing the Cybercrime Landscape

As reported cybercrime continues to evolve, artificial intelligence is introducing new challenges for businesses and cybersecurity professionals.

AI-powered tools can make it easier for criminals to create convincing phishing emails, impersonate trusted individuals, and automate portions of fraudulent campaigns.

In the past, launching sophisticated scams often required specialized technical knowledge or significant time and resources. Today, widely available AI tools can help criminals produce convincing messages and content with considerably less effort.

This has the potential to expand the number of individuals capable of carrying out certain types of cybercrime.

Jeff Wolverton, CEO of PivIT Strategy, explains:

“Artificial intelligence has significantly lowered the barrier to entry for cybercriminals. What once required technical expertise can now be accomplished with readily available AI tools. Criminals can create convincing phishing emails, impersonate executives, and launch sophisticated scams much more easily than they could just a few years ago. For businesses, that means cybersecurity can no longer be something you address only after an incident occurs. It has to be an ongoing priority.”

Why AI-Driven Cyber Threats Matter for Businesses

One of the biggest concerns surrounding AI-enabled cybercrime is the increasing sophistication of social engineering attacks.

Phishing emails that once contained obvious spelling mistakes or suspicious language can now be written in a professional tone and tailored to specific organizations.

AI-generated voice and video content can also be used to impersonate executives, employees, or trusted business partners, potentially making fraudulent requests more convincing.

For businesses, these developments reinforce the importance of combining technical cybersecurity controls with employee awareness and verification procedures.

Organizations should establish clear processes for confirming unusual payment requests, changes to banking information, and requests involving sensitive business data.

While AI is also helping cybersecurity professionals detect and respond to threats, its growing accessibility means businesses must continue adapting their defenses to an evolving threat landscape.

What These Cybercrime Trends Mean for American Businesses

The FBI’s data reflects a wide range of internet-enabled crimes, including financial fraud, phishing, identity theft, and other criminal activity.

Although the statistics do not measure business-specific attack rates, they reinforce the importance of maintaining strong cybersecurity practices.

For small and midsized businesses, a successful cybercrime incident can result in financial losses, operational downtime, compromised information, and reputational damage.

Organizations can reduce their exposure by implementing several foundational safeguards.

Strengthen Account Security

Multifactor authentication adds another layer of protection to business email accounts, remote access systems, and critical applications.

Train Employees to Recognize Threats

Employee cybersecurity awareness training can help staff identify phishing emails, fraudulent payment requests, suspicious links, and social engineering tactics.

Improve Email Security

Email remains an important attack channel for financial fraud and credential theft. Appropriate filtering, authentication, and threat detection technologies can help reduce exposure.

Maintain Secure Backups

Regularly tested backups can support recovery following ransomware attacks, accidental data loss, and other disruptive incidents.

Develop an Incident Response Plan

Businesses should establish clear procedures for identifying suspicious activity, containing incidents, preserving evidence, and restoring affected systems.

As a managed IT and cybersecurity provider, PivIT Strategy helps organizations strengthen their technology environments and implement security practices designed to address evolving cyber threats.

Research Methodology

PivIT Strategy analyzed publicly available data from the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center’s annual reports for 2020 through 2025.

The research covers all 50 U.S. states. Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories were excluded from the state rankings.

For each state, PivIT Strategy compared reported complaint counts in 2020 and 2025 and calculated the percentage change using the following formula:

((2025 complaints − 2020 complaints) ÷ 2020 complaints) × 100

States were ranked from highest to lowest percentage increase.

The study also examined reported financial losses using the FBI’s published state-level figures.

Important Limitations

FBI IC3 statistics reflect complaints submitted about suspected internet-enabled criminal activity. They are not a comprehensive count of confirmed cyberattacks.

Not all victims report incidents to the FBI, and differences in reporting practices may influence results.

The FBI’s annual reports also use terminology that varies across years, including references to victims and complainants. These differences should be considered when interpreting historical comparisons.

The primary rankings reflect percentage changes in published state counts and are not adjusted for population changes. Financial loss comparisons use nominal dollars and are not adjusted for inflation.

Sources

• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center
• FBI 2020 Internet Crime Report
• FBI 2021 Internet Crime Report
• FBI 2022 Internet Crime Report
• FBI 2023 Internet Crime Report
• FBI 2024 Internet Crime Report
• FBI 2025 Internet Crime Report

Research conducted by PivIT Strategy using publicly available FBI data. This study is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FBI.