And the North East body could have the experience and expertise to play a major role in answering calls from the capital for the creation of a map of fraudulent activity to show how criminals link up across the country.

The NEFF, whose members include police forces, universities and businesses, has been in operation for six years and plans to build a multi-million-pound anti-fraud institute in the region backed by European funding.

The success of the NEFF and its 200 member organisations has also seen replica organisations set up on a national scale and in the Midlands.

Chairman Alan Brown said: “We have a five-year start on these national initiatives and it could be suggested that we are already doing what is proposed, albeit at a local level.

“We now have experience in mapping trends and communicating preventative strategies to members and we would be able to provide examples of positive inter-agency working and the development of appropriate MOUs aimed at maximising information between local agencies.”

Over the last 12 months, the city of London police has appointed 50 new fraud specialists who have begun to investigate new frauds valued at £1bn and gathered intelligence on cases with potential losses of £500m.

Click here for more information about the NEFF and its annual conference this week.