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Introduction
Fraud is a significant problem. While not new, the evolution of technology has seen a change in the way that fraud can be perpetrated, particularly through the internet (Yar, 2013). The use of the internet to disseminate fraudulent pitches has increased the number of potential victims. Consequently, online fraud costs victims millions of dollars across the globe. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) annual report detailed over $81m losses to online fraud in 2014 (ACCC, 2015). The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) reported losses over $74m to mass marketing fraud in 2014 (CAFC, 2015). In the UK, the National Fraud Authority’s (NFA) annual fraud indicator estimated overall identified fraud losses for 2012/2013 as £15.5bn, £9.1bn of which were individual losses (NFA, 2013, p. 11). In combination, these figures demonstrate the impact that online fraud has to individuals.
While the amount of money lost to fraud is substantial, the impacts are far greater. Victims of online fraud will experience a variety of negative impacts. These include loss of physical health and well-being, depression and psychological trauma. They may also experience relationship breakdown and issues of homelessness (ASIC, 2002a, 2002b; Button et al., 2009a, 2009b, 2009c; Cross et al., 2014; forthcoming; Ganzini et al., 1990; Titus et al., 1995). In recognition of these impacts, there is a small body of research which indicates that the impact of fraud on individual victims can be comparable to those who experience violent crime (Deem, 2000; Deem et al., 2013; Marsh, 2004). In extreme circumstances, victims of online fraud have been known to commit suicide (Brooke, 2010; Mandel, 2013; Porter and Platt, 2013).
Given the impact that this type of crime has on individuals, it can be argued that it is an important matter for police attention. However, research indicates that fraud is not afforded high priority by police agencies in terms of allocating resources and undertaking investigations (Cross and Blackshaw, 2015; Doig and Levi, 2013; Doig et al., 2001; Frimpong and Baker, 2007; Levi, 2003). This is even more pronounced in an online fraud context, where the characteristics of the act provide many challenges to law enforcement in their ability to detect an offence has occurred, investigate the office or arrest an alleged...