POLICE have “lost the battle” with internet fraud and the cyber scam investigation system needs to be overhauled, the Internet Fraud Watchdog (IFW) says.

IFW executive chairman Ken Gamble said Australian police could not keep up with the number of internet scams and are “years behind”.

“All of a sudden there’s an explosion of technology and internet but police forces are still the same as they were 10 years ago,” said Mr Gamble, speaking at an event to launch a consumer fraud awareness campaign backed by Western Union and NSW Fair Trading

“The police can’t deal with it so nobody’s dealing with it so the problem’s getting worse.”

Mr Gamble added that the NSW Police budget for training in cyber crime was “zero”.

“They might have a few more people and more resources but the NSW Police have got zero budget for training for cyber crimes – what does that tell you?” he said.

“If we want to get police to train we have to invite them for free.

“The whole law enforcement system in relation to investigating internet fraud in this country needs a massive overhaul.”

NSW Police Fraud and Cybercrime Squad Detective Superintendent Colin Dyson said he rejected the comments made by IFW.

“Cybercrime, in fact all technology-enable crime, is now a priority for NSW Police,” he said. “Significant training has been provided to members of the Cybercrime Unit, in addition to the acquisition of technological tools.”

Supt Dyson said the unit changed its name to include cybercrime in November, 2011, and was not behind in any of its investigations.

A spokesperson for the Australian Federal Police said online crime was continuing to evolve.

Source: News.com