Fraud and electronic crime was burgeoning, yet was too often swept under the carpet by people and companies who were too ashamed to admit they have been swindled, a report said.
In 2002 Victorians were fleeced of what has been conservatively estimated to be more than AU$641 million by fraudsters and electronic criminals.
Yet during a two-year inquiry into the area the Victorian Parliamentary Drugs and Crime Prevention Committee found a widespread unwillingness to own up to having been a victim.
The committee's final report handed down today was accompanied by 51 recommendations largely aimed at bringing fraud and electronic crime more into the open.
Committee chair Carolyn Hirsh said white collar crime was growing but companies were some of the most reluctant victims to lay charges.
"We have heard evidence that fraud is increasing but an accurate measurement ... is difficult to obtain," she said.
"It is often undetected and even when detected is often not reported to law enforcement agencies."
Companies like banks rarely admitted to being cheated because they did not want clients to lose confidence in their security or they did not want to inspire copycats.
Identity theft was one type of fraud against banks that was growing. One recent scam involved Internet fraudsters copying a bank's Web site and e-mailing customers asking for personal financial details, saying the bank was upgrading its technology.
Another increasingly common fraud involved shop counter staff using special machines to read key details on a credit card's strip of magnetic tape.
Using that information the fraudsters could empty accounts or run up huge credit debts during lavish shopping sprees.
The committee said smart cards should be introduced speedily to replace the current magnetic strip cards.
In addition the committee recommended the creation of a Victorian Fraud Information Reporting Centre to record and track fraud. The agency would ideally be mirrored at the federal level with a Commonwealth body staffed by officers well schooled in new technology plus hacking and e-crime, she said.
Hirsh said the units would build on existing fraud squads but reflect the growth in electronic crime with greatly expanded technological and investigative skills.
"We're hoping that (the recommendation) will be adopted at both state and Commonwealth levels and ensure that both the public and private sectors report fraud."
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Most companies report e-crime. It is the police who place such crime as "Low Priority" and do not chase up the offender. I think the law needs to be changed in that area which gives the police more power to investigate the offender if in the case the offender has realised the company has sprung their crime they have committed and went into hiding. Also as e-crime is "Low Priority" to the police, it just leads the offender to hit other companies who are unaware of there past actions at their last employment. The police wipe there hands on fraud unless it is a big scam netting millions of dollars. Police should have the power to have a warrant issued to check the offenders premises and to arrest in the case of e-crime or white collar crime rather than let them get away with it. There is far too many loop holes and the offenders know the law quite well to re-offend again and again.