Fraud on the Internet rose sharply in 2002, with the FBI reporting more than 48,000 complaints referred to prosecutors -- triple the number of the year before.

The total dollar loss of Internet fraud reported to the center in 2002 was $54 million, compared with $17 million the year before. The 48,252 complaints referred for prosecution were far more than the 16,755 such complaints referred in 2001, but they still represent only a fraction of the crimes authorities believe are occurring.

One case involved $800,000 in losses by 300 people in a scheme to sell computers online and never deliver the merchandise. The perpetrator in this case, Teresa Smith of Worcester, Massechusetts, used several identities to prevent authorities from catching her.
Full Story: http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,58409,00.html

This just goes to confirm everything we've heard and have been saying all along.
It is incredible to me the number of people who still have yet to learn about protecting themselves online: i.e. what is a safe purchase, who are safe sellers, etc.