Yes, bottom feeding criminals come out from under their rocks at times like this.  From SeattlePI:

Discussing a study released Monday, officials said the 33 percent increase during 2008 in the number of complaints filed with a federal Internet crime clearinghouse is being driven in part by trouble in the nation’s economy.

Washington has been hit especially hard, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center report, ranking sixth in the nation in the number of Internet frauds reported. The state also appears to be home to an exceptionally high proportion of perpetrators; in per-capita terms, only Nevada and the District of Columbia rank higher.

While increased unemployment and financial difficulty have made Americans more susceptible to scams, the same unsteady job market may also push others toward crime, said John Kane, research manager for Internet Crime Complaint Center, a cybercrime clearinghouse funded in part by the FBI.

Read the Rest…