Experts claim police putting fraud no the backburner amid rising number of reported cases

Fraud cases get put on the backburner due to lack of police resources and the time consuming nature of investigations, a criminology expert has said.

Fraud cases are getting put on the backburner due to lack of police resources and the time-consuming nature of investigations, a criminology expert claims.

It comes as independent crime report figures show a worrying trend of rising Gold Coast fraud cases including online scams, credit card fraud, fraud from employers and identity fraud.
The report shows the rate of reported fraud on the Gold Coast jumped 7.1 per cent between the 2020-2021 financial year and the 2021-2022 financial years.

In the nine years to 2021-2022 the rate jumped 20 per cent.

Those figures show 2400 fraud cases reported on the Gold Coast in the 2012-2013 financial year. That jumped to 3402 in the last financial year.

The Gold Coast also has a less than 50 per cent hit rate when it comes to solving fraud cases with 44.5 per cent of cases marked as cleared.

Figures from the Queensland Government Statisticians Office independent crime report show that reported fraud cases are on the rise on the Gold Coast.

When it came to computer fraud, 15 per cent were cleared last financial year.

In the same time period, 17 per cent of identify fraud cases were cleared.

A case is considered cleared when an arrest has been made or determined no crime had occurred.

Bond University criminologist and former police officer Terry Goldsworthy said fraud was “not necessarily a priority for police in terms of dedication and resources”.

This was because violence crime or property crime often took precedence due to media exposure, he said.

“Where there is a violent crime or a spate of property crimes they will get more exposure than perhaps a couple of bank or credit card frauds,” he said.

“So they are probably prioritised down the bottom of the pile unless they are of a significant amount or unless they’re a self solver.”

Dr Goldsworthy said large-scale cyber hacks like Optus or Medibank Private meant there was a huge volume of identity details on the dark web, making it easier for identity fraud.

Bond University criminologist Terry Goldsworthy said fraud often gets put on the backburner in favour of violence crime or property crime. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

“When you have got 200,000 to 300,000 sets of details going out it’s almost impossible to chase all those up,” he said.

Dr Goldsworthy said there were steps people could take to protect themselves from fraud.

“Fraudsters rely on people’s good nature,” he said.

“If it seems too good to be true it probably is and you should be prepared to ask questions.”

He said fraudsters tended to become confrontational when questioned.

Queensland Police were unable to provide someone for an interview about the figures or claims fraud was put on the backburner.

Police are warning people to be vigilant in the face of scammers. Picture: iStock

Instead a Queensland Police spokeswoman sent a statement referring mostly to scams.

“Always be vigilant when receiving phone calls from people asking for money or personal details. Always consider the possibility an unsolicited call is a scam,” she said.

“Never provide an unsolicited caller with personal details such as login or banking details, and never give them remote access to your devices.”

She said scammers were also prevalent on dating sites, noting relationship scams on dating sites cost Queenslanders $26.8 million in 2022.

Warning signs include:

* quickly asked to change to a private chat app

* almost no online profile

* quickly asked for sexual photos and/or videos of you.

* broken webcam, offer excuses to avoid video of themselves.

* ask for help and say it is an emergency.