The Australian Crime Commission (ACC) has found global crime syndicates gouge about $15 billion a year from the economy.

The ACC's latest snapshot of organised crime notes organised criminals worldwide make more than $US870 billion a year.

Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare, who released the report in Brisbane today, says that is bigger than the GDP of Indonesia.

"If organised crime was a country, it would be in the G20," he said.

"It's a sobering report. It concludes that organised crime is becoming more pervasive, more powerful and more complex than ever before."

Mr Clare says Australia's wealth and strong economy makes it a prime target for organised crime. He says that is shown by the prices criminals can command for drugs like cocaine.

"The typical wholesale price for a kilo in Colombia is $US2,500, Mexico $US12,500, the US $US30,000. In Australia it's $US200,000," he said.

But the ACC warns that people do not have to be seeking out illicit products to come into contact with organised crime.

Sorry, this video has expired Organised crime rips billions from economy ( Kim Landers )

The report says it is now winding its way into people's everyday lives in an unprecedented way. A key lure is Australians' booming retirement savings pool.

According to the report, investors are increasingly being targeted by scams which they are referred to by complicit or compromised brokers but are actually run by offshore crime groups.

"We see families becoming dependent on social welfare after losing life savings," ACC chief John Lawler told ABC radio this morning.

"The internet now means drug dealers can market directly to consumers instead of going through middlemen.

"And so too criminals can use the internet to con people into giving them their savings."

The ACC report also warns of the increasing risk of cyber crime, including fraud, identity theft and hacking.

It says last year saw an increase in so-called ransomware attacks, where hackers render computers files inaccessible until the owner pays a fee.

In some cases, the fee increased each day it remained unpaid.

Police, officials corrupted via social media

The report also warns organised criminals are using social media to lure police and other public officials into corrupt relationships or bribe them to turn a blind eye to crime.

It says crime is increasingly being facilitated by networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook, where officials publish "large volumes" of personal details.

The report says criminals use the connections to "gain access to public funds, information, protection and other services that help facilitate criminal activities".

"This can include targeting public officials who work in areas where they have access to information on the activities of other organised crime groups and law enforcement agencies, or where staff are able to provide identification documents such as drivers' licences," it said.

"Officials with the capability to facilitate organised criminal activities through turning a blind eye to activities, or those who can direct targeting of goods at places such as importation points, are also likely targets."

The report also warns criminals are also using bodybuilding and kickboxing websites to contact officials and decide whether to try to get them on board.

"Organised crime groups have used these details to initiate contact, which at first may appear to be within the context for interaction within these forums, but can be built upon to judge the potential for compromising the person being targeted," it said.

The report says it is not just Australian-based public officials who may be targeted but also diplomats working overseas.

'Money creates power in the underworld'

Mr Clare has used the ACC's findings to bolster his case for standardising unexplained wealth laws that he says would give authorities more power to seize criminals' wealth.

"Crime is driven by money. Money creates power in the criminal underworld," he said.

"Many criminals are more afraid of losing their money than they are of going to jail. If you take away their money you make a big impact.

"That's why national unexplained wealth laws are very important.

"They reverse the onus of proof so criminals have to prove their wealth was obtained legally."