1:00 AM AEDT | AUSTRALIANS lost more than half a billion dollars in credit card fraud last year, and security experts warn that banks are not doing enough to protect customers online and are playing down the problem for fear of harming their reputations.

1:00 AM AEDT | THE family of missing traveller Britt Lapthorne fears the investigation into her disappearance is being hampered by a pall of "community silence" designed to protect the ancient town's reputation as a tourist destination.