Abstract
This chapter explores key dimensions and trends in official indicators of fraud in Australia and New Zealand, including recorded allegations, surveys, and convictions. Contrary to trends in a number of major crime categories, fraud appears to be increasing, driven in part by opportunities in cyberspace. The chapter also includes case studies of major recent frauds, highlighting the potential for large financial losses. A review of enforcement and prevention efforts in both countries demonstrates the need for much more effective action than is currently the case.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
ABS. 2008. Personal Fraud, 2007. Cat. no. 4528.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS. 2011. Australian and New Zealand Standard Offence Classification. Cat. no. 1234.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS. 2015. Recorded Crime – Victims, Australia, 2014. Cat. no. 4510.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS. 2016a. Crime Victimisation, Australia, 2014–15. Cat. no. 4530.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS. 2016b. Criminal Courts, Australia, 2014–15. Cat. no. 4513.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS. 2016c. Personal Fraud, 2014–15. Cat. no. 4528.0. Canberra: ABS.
ACCC. 2011. Targeting Scams. Canberra: ACCC.
ACCC. 2015. Annual Report, 2014–15. Canberra: ACCC.
ACCC. 2016. Targeting Scams. Canberra: ACCC.
AIC. 2014. Australian Crime: Facts and Figures, 2013. Canberra: AIC.
AIC. 2016. Australian Crime: Facts and Figures, 2014. Canberra: AIC.
ANAO. 2011. Therapeutic Goods Regulation: Complementary Medicines. Canberra: ANAO.
Anthony, John. 2016. Former Mighty River Power Engineer Jailed for $2.2.m Fraud. The Nelson Mail, May 25.
ASIC. 2015. Annual Report, 2014–15. Canberra: ASIC.
Carter, Lucy. 2015. Maker of Nurofen Fined 1.7 Million for Misleading Consumers. ABC News, April 29.
Elder, Vaughan. 2013. Swann Forfeits Assets but Not Freedom. Otago Daily Times, November 22.
Farnsworth, Sarah. 2015. Coles Fined $2.5 Million over Baked Bread Claims. ABC News, April 10.
Friedrichs, David. 2007. Trusted Criminals. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Friedrichs, David. 2010. Mortgage Origination Fraud and the Global Economic Crisis. Criminology and Public Policy 9: 627–632.
Gee, Jim, and Mark Button. 2015. The Financial Cost of Fraud. London: PKF Littlejohn.
Hayes, Hennessey, and Tim Prenzler. 2003. Profiling Fraudsters. Canberra: Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department.
Office, Home. 2015. Crime Against Businesses: Findings from the 2014 Commercial Victimisation Survey. London: Home Office.
Jorna, Penny, and Russell G. Smith. 2015. Fraud against the Commonwealth. Canberra: AIC.
Larson, Erik. 2016. The Mystery Madoff Victims Who Left $2.5 Billion on the Table. Bloomberg, March 4.
Lateline. 2016. Identity Theft Victims’ Support Services Overwhelmed as Cyber Crime Soars. ABC News, May 16.
Levi, Michael, Martin Innes, Peter Reuter, and Rajeev Gundur. 2013. The Economic, Financial and Social Impacts of Organised Crime in the European Union. Brussels: European Parliament’s Special Committee on Organised Crime, Corruption and Money Laundering.
MBIE. 2013. $4 Million Lost to Scams. Scoop, February 25.
Ministry of Justice. 2014. New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey (NZCASS). Wellington: Ministry of Justice.
NZ Police. 2015. Annual Report 2014/2015. Wellington: NZ Police.
Prenzler, Tim. 2013. Ethics and Accountability in Criminal Justice. Brisbane: Australian Academic Press.
Prenzler, Tim. 2016. Welfare Fraud Prevention in Australia: A Follow-Up Study. Crime Prevention and Community Safety 18 (3): 187–203.
PWC. 2016. Global Economic Crime Survey 2016. http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/economic-crime-survey/pdf/GlobalEconomicCrimeSurvey2016.pdf.
Ransley, Janet, and Tim Prenzler. 2015. White Collar Crime. In An Introduction to Crime and Criminology, ed. Hennessey Hayes, and Tim Prenzler, 134–152. Sydney: Pearson.
Roach, Jason, and Ken Pease. 2013. Evolution and Crime. London: Routledge.
Scamwatch. 2016. Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce. www.scamwatch.gov.au/about-scamwatch/australasian-consumer-fraud-taskforce. Accessed 8 Sep.
SFO. 2015. Annual Report, 2015. Auckland: SFO.
Smith, Russell, Penny Jorna, Josh Sweeney, and Georgina Fuller. 2014. Counting the Costs of Crime in Australia. Canberra: AIC.
Statistics New Zealand. 2015. Annual Recorded Offences. Wellington: Statistics New Zealand.
Statistics New Zealand. 2016a. Adults Convicted in Court by Sentence Type. Wellington: Statistics New Zealand.
Statistics New Zealand. 2016b. Population Indicators. Wellington: Statistics New Zealand.
Thomson, Phillip. 2015. Australian Taxation Office Axes 4400 Jobs in 19Â months. The Canberra Times, April 9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Prenzler, T. (2017). Fraud Victimisation and Prevention. In: Deckert, A., Sarre, R. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Australian and New Zealand Criminology, Crime and Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55747-2_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55747-2_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55746-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-55747-2
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)