North Dakota Cybercrime Victims Lost $37.8 Million In 2025

Cybercrime continues to be one of the fastest-growing threats facing Americans, and a new study shows that North Dakota residents are losing more money than most of the country.

According to a new study by Chicks Gold, North Dakota ranks fifth in the nation for the highest average financial loss per cybercrime victim. On average, each victim in the Peace Garden State lost a staggering $26,685 to online scams and cybercriminals.

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North Dakota Cybercrime Losses Top $37.8 Million as Online Scams Continue to Rise

The findings are based on data from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report, which tracks cybercrime complaints and financial losses across the United States.

In 2025 alone, 1,419 North Dakota residents reported becoming victims of cybercrime. Together, those victims lost more than $37.8 million.

While those figures are alarming, they likely don't tell the whole story.

Many victims of online scams never report what happened because they feel embarrassed, believe there's little chance of recovering their money, or simply don't know where to report the crime. That means the actual number of victims and the total amount of money lost is likely much higher than the official statistics suggest.

Cybercriminals continue to target people through a variety of schemes, including phishing emails, fake online shopping websites, investment scams, romance scams, tech support fraud, identity theft, and business email compromise. As scammers become more sophisticated, even cautious internet users can become victims.

The Chicks Gold study ranked states by calculating the average loss per victim using data from the FBI's IC3 report. Researchers examined each state's total number of victims, total financial losses, average loss per victim, and losses per 100,000 residents before ranking states from highest to lowest average losses.

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How to Protect Yourself from Cybercrime and Online Scams

The report serves as a reminder that cybersecurity isn't just an issue for businesses. It's something every internet user should take seriously. Experts recommend using strong, unique passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication whenever possible, avoiding suspicious links or attachments, and verifying requests for money or personal information before responding.

If you believe you've been the victim of an online scam or cybercrime, reporting it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center can help investigators identify trends and potentially prevent others from becoming victims.

With North Dakota ranking among the nation's worst states for average cybercrime losses, staying vigilant online has never been more important.