While the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research statistics show relatively steady rates of other areas of crime across the 12 months, there have been almost 50 more fraud cases reported since last year.

Murrumbidgee Police District Chief Inspector John Wadsworth said it was one of the hardest areas to tackle.

"Time and time again I've personally witnessed people who have come in and lost just about their life savings, law abiding people who believe that the police are going to come and get them over unpaid taxes," he said.

"These cretins are out there stealing their money, especially from the elderly."

He encourages people to check out the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) website to learn about the different kinds of fraud techniques occurring at the moment.

"I strongly encourage people to understand how these fraudsters work. Most of the time they are based overseas which means police have difficulty in locating and prosecuting them.

"What is important, is that within our social groups, whatever they may be, that people talk about the scams going on and inform their family or friends who may not be as tech savvy."

Incidents of property break and enters were 26.2 per cent higher per capita then the NSW average, and there was also a 4.1 per cent increase in incidents from the last report as well.

Chief Inspector Wadsworth said despite there being an increase in the number, police had never been more equipped to capture the perpetrators.

He credits improving technology especially fingerprinting, as well as the increased use of CCTV footage for a "good capture" rate. Yet he also says there is the "good old fashioned policing" which cannot be beaten.

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"A policeman's best ally is the community. If the member of public who sees something out of place and gives us a phone call or contact Crime Stoppers."

He said police also regularly check people recently released from jail and people known to police, as well as having task forces specifically catering to targeting break and enters, and yet said most of the time there were reasonable explanations for anything out of the ordinary.

"At the end of the day our police live in the community which means we are directly involved - it is our families we are looking after as well."

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