U.S. consumers reported losing more than $239 million from online fraud last year, up from $198 million in 2006, according to data released today by the FBI. Internet auction fraud (35.7 percent) and merchandise non-delivery (24.9 percent) were the most frequently reported types of cyber fraud. The median loss amount per fraud incident last year was approximately $680, the report said. The most costly scams involved investment fraud, which cost consumers about $3,500 per incident — and check fraud ($3,000). In nearly 74 percent of the cases, the perpetrators contacted the victim via e-mail. The full report is available here (PDF). The FBI cautions, however, that some fraud reports may have been misclassified by victims. For example, it works closely with auction giant eBay, which routinely refers fraud victims to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the organization that published these figures. The report notes that many consumers referred