The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has urged the Swiss authorities to step up cooperation with other countries to combat cyber crime. The call comes amid a growing number fraud cases committed over the Internet.

The organisation said in Zurich on Friday that legal loopholes enabled those who commit cyber crimes to escape unpunished. The ICC said the federal and cantonal authorities often did not even list such crimes in their statistics.

The ICC called on the federal administration and politicians to increase cooperation with other countries, but also within the government and the business world.

It said cyber crime shot up dramatically worldwide last year. The report gave no detailed figures, but experts estimate that two thirds of cases of cyber crime reported last year were directly linked to fraud committed through e-commerce.

The report says the banking and insurance sectors as well as goods and services were affected. The ICC said its experts had set up a system to warn companies of fraudulent offers on Internet sites.

The experts advised clients to apply the usual caution when using the Internet for financial transactions and to beware of bait offers.

The organisation comprises 130 private companies worldwide and was founded in 1919. Its Swiss branch is based in Zurich and is associated with the country's business federation.

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