FRAUDSTERS are costing the region's economy £500m a year - and the figure is rising.

Experts say the North-East and North Yorkshire loses £57,000 an hour, almost £1,000 a minute, through fraud.

Police forces from across the area have teamed up with businesses and agencies, including the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise, to launch the North-East Fraud Forum to crack down on the crime.

Detective Inspector Phil Butler, of Northumbria Police's economic and commercial squad, who organised the forum, said: "Nationally, this is a £20bn a year industry - twice the figure bandied about for the drugs trade.

"We realised that we were good at detecting fraud, but were not doing enough to alert potential victims - business people and public services who were likely targets.

"Rather than wait until a fraud was perpetrated, we thought how much better it would be if we could gather together potential future victims and give them an insight into the workings of the criminal mind."

Elaine Cary, chairman of the North-East Retail Crime Partnership, said: "We need to send out a strong message that we are prepared to work together to develop measures to bring down levels of fraud."

Some of the world's biggest corporations will be represented at the launch.

Forum chairman is Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate, a former senior police officer and spokesman on law and order in the House of Lords.

Michael Bird, chairman of the Northumbria Coalition Against Crime, said: "The forum will pave the way in making it acceptable to admit there are problems and start to open up solutions to the problems we all share."

The forum will meet for the first time at St James' Park, Newcastle, on March 18.

Fraud facts

* Nationally, fraud costs about £20bn a year - twice the amount experts believe crooks net through the drugs trade.

* Fraud costs the economy of the North-East and North Yorkshire an estimated £500m a year - and the figure is rising - which equates to £57,000 an hour, or almost £1,000 a minute.

* Crimes range from minor credit card fraud to money laundering by international terrorists and drugs cartels.

* It affects all businesses, from multi-national corporations to shopkeepers.

* The fastest growing area is Internet crime, known as cyber-fraud.