It’s no surprise to most Police Association members that financial fraud is rapidly expanding worldwide – but the worst may be yet to come.

Organised scam networks using artificial intelligence and trafficked workers are driving the surge, according to Interpol. Its warning comes as the New Zealand Government moves to strengthen the country’s ability to investigate and prosecute complex fraud offending.

The Serious Fraud Office Amendment Bill passed its first reading in Parliament on April 30, with Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell saying the changes were needed to help investigators keep pace with increasingly sophisticated offending.

“It’s estimated fraud in New Zealand results in billions of dollars in losses each year and causes untold harm to countless hardworking New Zealanders and businesses,” the Justice Minister says.

“We know the scale and complexity of fraud is increasing. It challenges the ability of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute the fraudsters who commit these serious crimes. We must regularly update our laws to adapt to advances in technology and how fraud is committed. It’s our responsibility to ensure New Zealanders aren’t left vulnerable to gaps in the law.”

Interpol warning

The proposed law changes come as the 2026 Interpol Global Financial Fraud Threat Assessment warns the crime is now one of the most significant challenges facing law enforcement globally and is expected to escalate sharply in the coming years.

The report estimates global fraud losses reached US$442 billion (NZ$750b) in 2025, underscoring the enormous economic and social impact of the crime. It ranks financial fraud among the top five global crime threats, alongside drug trafficking and money laundering.

Organised crime groups’ use of artificial intelligence (AI), scam centres and global networks to target victims is growing increasingly sophisticated – some are even collaborating to optimise efficiency through shared expertise and technology.

Interpol is especially concerned that AI is becoming a “force multiplier”. AI-enabled financial fraud schemes are estimated to be 4.5 times more profitable than non-enhanced fraud tactics.

“It greatly boosts both efficiency and effectiveness, enabling fraudsters to target more victims while making each interaction more convincing, accelerating the industrialisation of fraud,” the report says.

The Asia-Pacific region has not been left unscathed. Fraud-related notices issued through Interpol rose 47% between 2024 and 2025.

Authorities say the region faces a mix of sophisticated scams, with investment fraud, impersonation fraud and business email compromise among the most common threats. Criminals frequently use AI-generated messages, deepfake voices and fake investment platforms to convince victims to transfer funds or reveal personal information.

Technology is dramatically lowering barriers to entry for criminals. Dark-web marketplaces now sell tools capable of cloning a person’s voice or face from just 10 seconds of audio or video, allowing fraudsters to convincingly impersonate victims’ colleagues, family members or business partners or to bypass authentication systems and impersonate individuals.
 

The Interpol report also highlights the continued expansion of organised scam centres, many originally concentrated in Southeast Asia but now spreading globally, with no continent left untouched. These operations often rely on trafficked workers forced to carry out online scams targeting victims overseas. By late 2025, victims from nearly 80 nationalities had been trafficked into such operations.

Fraud tactics are also evolving. Increasingly, criminals combine traditional scams with sextortion or digital blackmail, using AI-generated images or videos to pressure victims into paying money.

NZ to cut red tape

Against that backdrop, New Zealand’s Government says the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) needs stronger powers to investigate increasingly digital offending.

“Our Government is committed to fixing the basics in law and order, and that means ensuring law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to hold criminals to account, and to prevent more New Zealanders from becoming victims of fraud and corruption,” Mark Mitchell says.

“Currently, the SFO can experience difficulties obtaining all electronic evidence, applying for warrants when under time pressure and managing their own search scenes. We need to ensure there is no red tape preventing the SFO from doing their job and protecting New Zealanders.”

The Bill would give the SFO authority to obtain necessary digital and cloud-based evidence, apply for search warrants orally and manage its own search sites to prevent interference with investigations.

It would also amend evidence admissibility provisions so courts can apply the more widely used test in the Evidence Act 2006 when deciding whether unlawfully obtained evidence should be admitted.

The legislation further clarifies that Police can use all of its usual powers under the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 when assisting the SFO to execute warrants.