The Authority has published fraud figures which show that all kinds of fraud cost the UK economy £30 billion a year, which works out at more than £600 per person.
The calculations include public and private sector fraud and half of the sum is lost through tax fraud, the NFA said.
The NFA gathered fraud data from many sources to produce what it said was the first comprehensive review of fraud losses in the UK.
It said that figures from the UK Payments Association's showed that online banking fraud losses were £52.2m and card-related fraud at £609.9m. The data used by the NFA is for 2008.
The NFA said that its review of fraud is more comprehensive than that previously produced by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which estimated annual UK fraud losses as being £13bn.
"That figure captured only a proportion of the true fraud loss, as it only referenced publicly available information," said an NFA statement. "The new higher figure is the result of the NFA collating previously unpublished fraud loss figures, and producing its own fraud estimates in areas where fraud data was unavailable."
"The report and overall fraud loss estimate will enable the NFA and Government to develop clearer priorities to prevent, detect and deter fraudsters and identify those areas of fraud that cause the most harm to the UK economy, to tackle it more effectively," it said.
The review found that 54% of businesses had been the victim of fraud at some point in the last year, while the financial services industry bore the brunt of private sector fraud, with losses of £3.8bn a year.
The public sector accounted for 58% of the fraud noted in the review, the private sector suffered 31% of the fraud and individuals 12%. The NFA said, though, that this might not fully represent the actual distribution of fraudulent behaviour between those categories.
"It is important to note that the public sector figures reflect more mature and sophisticated measurement processes and a willingness to share this data for inclusion in the NFA's first fraud measure," its statement said. "Private and voluntary sector fraud information is significantly patchier. The figures relating to these sectors are as accurate as possible, but nevertheless likely to underestimate the total private sector amount."
"The NFA Annual Fraud Indicator is a milestone in tackling fraud. It means we now have a much more accurate fraud picture which is crucial so we can better target fraudsters," said Attorney General Baroness Scotland. ""However, we have a way to go. We need more organisations to measure and report the money they lose to fraud, so we can continue to build our knowledge and response to this endemic crime."
As part of its attempt to combat fraud, the NFA has launched the first single national reporting centre for fraud, Action Fraud.
