(STACKER) – While economies the world over suffered, slowed, and effectively stopped due to the pandemic, the fraud economy flourished. Experts estimated that the annual global cost of fraud in 2020 would total just over $5 trillion USD—more than the GDP of most countries.

But those were pre-pandemic estimates, derived under pre-pandemic conditions and an old normal. Experts believe the actual total in our new covid-concurrent reality is much higher. In some areas around the world, rates of fraud rose by nearly 20%.

The fraud economy, like any other, is vast, complex, and full of skilled operators who drive it. Cybercrime is a major contributor to the fraud economy, with e-commerce fraud as an offshoot.

In the first year of the pandemic, e-commerce sales in the U.S. rose by more than 32%, totaling $791.7 billion as businesses and consumers turned to online shopping amid lockdowns, social distancing restrictions, brick-and-mortar closures, and illness anxiety. But where there is prosperity earned honestly, there is also opportunity for bad actors to cash in.

More than 60% of internet users in the U.S. have experienced cybercrime. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaints Center (IC3), the five most reported cybercrimes are phishing, non-payment/non-delivery, extortion, personal data breach, and identity theft. People over the age of 60 are most likely to be targets of and fall victim to cybercrime. In 2020 alone, this segment of the population lost more than $966 million to online fraud.

Non-payment and non-delivery fraud was the second most widely reported type of cybercrime in 2020. According to the FBI, in non-delivery situations, where the victim is the buyer, payment is sent but goods and services are never received. In non-payment scams where the victim is the seller, items or services are sent, but payment is never received. These types of scams rose by 76% from 2019 to 2020. Just under 100,000 Americans were impacted by this type of e-commerce crime and collectively lost $217 million.

Wicked Reports broke down state-by-state 2020 data (including Washington D.C.) from the IC3 to determine the states most harmed by non-payment and non-delivery scams in e-commerce, ranked by losses per victim. Population data as of July 1, 2021 was taken from the U.S. Census Bureau to estimate victims per 100,000 citizens for each state. Interestingly, the top-five states most impacted by these scams were neither the states that shop online the most—which could have made them statistically more likely to be affected—nor were they the states that online shop the least, which could have indicated a lack of familiarity with e-commerce best practices.

Vigilance and a healthy bit of skepticism can be your greatest asset in protecting your information online, particularly in e-commerce settings. If a website looks suspicious or a deal looks too good to be true, walk away, or take time to vet it thoroughly. E-commerce fraud is projected to grow by 105% by 2025.

51. Washington D.C.

– Losses per victim: $691
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 32
– Total monetary loss: $146,462

50. Kansas

– Losses per victim: $980
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 26
– Total monetary loss: $734,971

49. Kentucky

– Losses per victim: $1,085
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 25
– Total monetary loss: $1,227,261

48. New Hampshire

– Losses per victim: $1,133
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 30
– Total monetary loss: $464,359

47. Nebraska

– Losses per victim: $1,216
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 26
– Total monetary loss: $617,568

46. Tennessee

– Losses per victim: $1,221
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 28
– Total monetary loss: $2,347,435

45. Arkansas

– Losses per victim: $1,283
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 23
– Total monetary loss: $889,084

44. Michigan

– Losses per victim: $1,287
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 29
– Total monetary loss: $3,797,858

43. New Mexico

– Losses per victim: $1,322
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 25
– Total monetary loss: $699,286

42. Indiana

– Losses per victim: $1,327
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 26
– Total monetary loss: $2,342,017

41. Montana

– Losses per victim: $1,346
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 24
– Total monetary loss: $349,880

40. Delaware

– Losses per victim: $1,351
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 54
– Total monetary loss: $728,047

39. Virginia

– Losses per victim: $1,369
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 34
– Total monetary loss: $4,080,951

38. Alabama

– Losses per victim: $1,421
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 27
– Total monetary loss: $1,946,953

37. Mississippi

– Losses per victim: $1,431
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 24
– Total monetary loss: $1,033,097

36. Wisconsin

– Losses per victim: $1,475
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 25
– Total monetary loss: $2,131,149

35. Maryland

– Losses per victim: $1,505
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 34
– Total monetary loss: $3,131,274

34. Pennsylvania

– Losses per victim: $1,506
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 32
– Total monetary loss: $6,180,208

33. Washington

– Losses per victim: $1,538
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 31
– Total monetary loss: $3,661,392

32. Idaho

– Losses per victim: $1,560
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 23
– Total monetary loss: $688,153

31. West Virginia

– Losses per victim: $1,575
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 32
– Total monetary loss: $888,281

30. Vermont

– Losses per victim: $1,614
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 31
– Total monetary loss: $324,466

29. Nevada

– Losses per victim: $1,706
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 43
– Total monetary loss: $2,310,590

28. Oklahoma

– Losses per victim: $1,713
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 25
– Total monetary loss: $1,685,731

27. Arizona

– Losses per victim: $1,724
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 32
– Total monetary loss: $3,953,548

26. South Dakota

– Losses per victim: $1,763
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 20
– Total monetary loss: $322,646

25. North Carolina

– Losses per victim: $1,825
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 28
– Total monetary loss: $5,335,908

24. Massachusetts

– Losses per victim: $1,843
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 30
– Total monetary loss: $3,853,482

23. Alaska

– Losses per victim: $1,844
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 27
– Total monetary loss: $368,833

22. Connecticut

– Losses per victim: $1,855
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 30
– Total monetary loss: $2,014,503

21. Missouri

– Losses per victim: $1,939
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 28
– Total monetary loss: $3,370,742

20. Texas

– Losses per victim: $1,940
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 27
– Total monetary loss: $15,309,037

19. South Carolina

– Losses per victim: $1,974
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 30
– Total monetary loss: $3,062,167

18. California

– Losses per victim: $2,046
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 34
– Total monetary loss: $26,912,115

17. Maine

– Losses per victim: $2,082
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 28
– Total monetary loss: $814,195

16. Hawaii

– Losses per victim: $2,134
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 23
– Total monetary loss: $719,324

15. Minnesota

– Losses per victim: $2,196
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 26
– Total monetary loss: $3,237,364

14. North Dakota

– Losses per victim: $2,228
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 24
– Total monetary loss: $416,570

13. Colorado

– Losses per victim: $2,398
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 32
– Total monetary loss: $4,446,800

12. Louisiana

– Losses per victim: $2,485
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 26
– Total monetary loss: $2,942,669

11. Illinois

– Losses per victim: $2,549
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 26
– Total monetary loss: $8,489,230

10. Oregon

– Losses per victim: $2,610
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 29
– Total monetary loss: $3,241,371

9. New York

– Losses per victim: $2,668
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 32
– Total monetary loss: $16,997,357

8. New Jersey

– Losses per victim: $3,008
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 33
– Total monetary loss: $9,075,647

7. Wyoming

– Losses per victim: $3,373
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 29
– Total monetary loss: $573,464

6. Rhode Island

– Losses per victim: $3,463
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 32
– Total monetary loss: $1,232,834

5. Florida

– Losses per victim: $3,495
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 36
– Total monetary loss: $27,055,269

4. Ohio

– Losses per victim: $3,687
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 26
– Total monetary loss: $11,425,775

3. Utah

– Losses per victim: $3,713
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 25
– Total monetary loss: $3,099,967

2. Georgia

– Losses per victim: $4,431
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 28
– Total monetary loss: $13,182,112

1. Iowa

– Losses per victim: $4,858
– Victims per 100,000 citizens: 23
– Total monetary loss: $3,507,557