Banks need to act on tap-and-go: Vic govt

Banks have to act now to stamp out tap-and-go card fraud after it drove a 48 per cent blowout in deception offences in Victoria, the state's police minister says.

Police say a rise in deceptions is affecting the overall crime rate in the state, with an increase of about 11,600 deception offences in the past year.

Police attribute the rise to the use of tap-and-go cards, which allow people to make purchases up to $99 without a PIN or signature.

Police Minister Kim Wells said banks needed to work harder to reduce tap-and-go spending sprees.

"The banks simply need to do more to crack down on this," Mr Wells told reporters on Wednesday.

"It's not good enough for the banks to say, 'Oh, we'll cover the costs. Don't worry about it'.

"That's just simply not good enough. It's a policing matter. It's involving police in it. The banks need to do more."

Police say tap-and-go cards are being stolen from mailboxes, handbags and cars, and being used by thieves for days.