—>Looking for stats about how fraud has risen over the past year. I was able to find a few data points:

• A NYT article today talks about how the FBI is understaffed to investigate financial crime because it shifted almost 1/3 of its force to anti-terrorism duties.
• A UK bank group says phishing attacks rose 186% from January to June 2008 over the same period last year.
• According to this phone-survey study, both the frequency and dollar amount involved in identity theft has gone down over the past three years.
• The FTC is a great resource, but the most recent, relevant, report I found was from 2007

F.B.I. Struggles to Handle Wave of Financial Fraud Cases [NYT]
Bank turmoil fuels phishing boom [BBC]
2008 Identity Fraud Survey Report [Javelin Strategy]
FTC Releases Consumer Fraud Survey [FTC]