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The head officer leading the national drive against economic crime has said that fraud is increasing during the current recession and must be made a police priority.

The number of reported frauds rose by 64 per cent during the past financial year, with people from all walks of life falling victim.

Mike Bowron, Commissioner of City of London Police, said that law enforcement agencies could no longer ignore white collar crime.

The City force has appointed 50 new fraud specialists have now opened investigations into new frauds valued at £1 billion and gathered intelligence on cases with potential losses of £500 million.

The value of reported frauds was put at £14 billion in 2005 by independent academics, who said that the amount of total losses — when unreported cases were taken into account — was likely to be closer to £20 billion. The credit crunch has exposed more suspect financial activity, such as the estimated losses of £44 billion by investors in GFX Capital, a foreign exchange dealing business whose head is under police investigation.