Spence: Queensland Police lead the way in catching online fraudsters

A Queensland Police initiative aimed at streamlining the investigation on online auction fraud is stopping offenders in their tracks.

Police Minister Judy Spence said Queensland Police have identified 23 Queensland based recidivist online fraudsters since the launch of their central reporting website, developed in partnership with eBay last year.

Ms Spence said: “The world-first web-based portal provides any Australian or international consumer with a gateway to report online fraud to all Australian law enforcement agencies.

“In the past, if a consumer had a complaint when an item they purchased on a site like eBay didn't arrive, or was not what was listed, they often made their complaint straight to their local police.

“In many cases police found that if the consumer had contacted their online auction site or the seller directly instead, their complaint could easily have been handled without police involvement.

“And in those cases of criminal fraud, the local police who received the complaint often faced difficulties in identifying and investigating offenders in different areas or across jurisdictions, and experienced delays waiting for interstate file transfers.

“The Queensland Police Service eBay initiative has brought down these barriers.

“Since the new system went live, 416 matters relating to either victims or offenders in Queensland alone have been reported using the portal, and investigated by our police.

“60% of the reports lodged on the portal by Queensland victims, related to Queensland based offenders, while 31% related to international based offenders and 9% to interstate offenders who falsely claimed to be in Queensland.

“Through the centralising of information and intelligence on the portal, our police have identified 23 Queensland based recidivist offenders. These repeat offenders account for up to 50% of the Queensland complaints received on the portal, and the majority have been arrested.”

Ms Spence said police have charged one man with 33 offences, and another man has been charged with 48 offences.

“A Victorian man is also currently under investigation, after he allegedly conned more than 3,000 victims Australia-wide into purchasing holidays which didn't exist,” Ms Spence said.

“The use of the online reporting tool during this investigation is estimated to have saved around 30,000 police reporting hours – significantly fast-tracking the investigation.

“While in the past, there was no simple process for police to link complaints and offences across jurisdictions – our officers are now able to quickly identify the recidivist offenders who are taking advantage of multiple buyers.

“This initiative is the latest weapon against online auction fraud internationally and I congratulate Detective Superintendent Brian Hay and his team at the fraud squad on the success of the project.”

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