The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) released the crime figures on Tuesday for the 12 months up to September, this year. The New England North West recorded a 20 per cent drop in break-ins to homes, while the fraud spike has been blamed on the ‘tap-N-go’ cards.

In the Tamworth area, fraud jumped from 691 incidents in 2015 to 932 to September.

“There has been an increase in the prevalence of frauds via paywave offences, where stolen cards are used to obtain goods under the $100 limit for multiple transactions before they are reported stolen,” Oxley Chief Inspector Phil O’Reilly said.

“Community members, as preventative measure, may request that that function is removed. It is automatically assigned to cards when they're issued.

“We also request that business owners check the validity of the card owner when multiple transactions are attempted.”