FRAUDSTERS and forgers are more likely to be caught in North Yorkshire than most other parts of England.

So-called 'cyber-crime', mainly false credit card transactions on the Internet, is believed to have led to a recent surge in swindling.

But North Yorkshire police had the seventh best record of 43 forces in arresting fraudsters.

It cleared up 67 per cent of 2,563 recorded fraud and forgery offences in 1998/99, according to Government figures.

In 1997, it solved 55 per cent of 980 offences, 58 per cent of 1,052 in 1996, and 55 per cent of 1,032 in 1995.

The average clear-up rate across England and Wales was 36 per cent in 1998/99, 48 per cent in 1997, 49 per cent in 1996 and 50 per cent in 1995.

Dyfed-Powys police had the best clear-up rate of 86 per cent in 1998-99, while the Met police had the worse record of just 15 per cent.

Paul Wiles, head of research at the Home Office, said some of the increase in fraud and forgery was due to new recording methods, but that cyber-crime using credit cards was also a major cause.

Counting rules for recorded crime changed on April 1, 1998, resulting in an estimated rise of 61 per cent for fraud and forgery offences.

But the overall fraud and forgery figure for England and Wales soared by more than 100 per cent from 1997 to 1998/99.