Seven Rotorua benefit fraudsters have been prosecuted in the last six months with wrongful payments amounting to nearly half a million dollars.
However, a community advocate advises against widespread condemnation of welfare recipients, saying many beneficiaries are doing their "very best" to find jobs.
Rotorua Citizens Advice Bureau manager Jane Eynon-Richards said advocacy staff dealt with a variety of beneficiary clients needing help.
Her comments follow the release of new figures showing local benefit fraud prosecution cases totalled $494,925 in the six months to March.
Seven fraudsters were prosecuted, according to the Social Development Ministry.
Mrs Eynon-Richards said: "We definitely see people who have been pushed around and had lots of blows [and] for various reasons have been out of work for a long time.
"We also see some that know exactly how to get every grant there is ... but we always have to take people for face value."
Some welfare advocates have slammed authorities for unfairly targeting beneficiaries, and failing to crack down on more profitable white collar criminals.
A Victoria University tax lecturer last year estimated tax evaders cost the country between $1 billion and $6 billion in 2011, while welfare fraud totalled $39 million for the year.
In March, 1589 unemployment benefits were being collected by local residents, up from 1544 a year earlier.
Despite this, the total number of benefits claimed fell slightly over the 12-month period, from 7798 to 7652.
In December a Rotorua couple who fleeced nearly $150,000 in illegal welfare payments over 16 years were sentenced to home detention and community work. Norman Deane Manuriki Cole and Jacquilynne Hiria Mahara aka Turner claimed $83,000 and $62,000 in overpayments respectively.
Nationally, nearly 400 fraudsters were prosecuted between October and March for illegally claiming welfare payments that totalled just over $13.7 million.
Associate Minister for Social Development Chester Borrows said welfare fraud was a "crime of dishonesty", comparable to any other type of theft.
"The Government makes no apology for treating it as such. It is a crime which costs the taxpayer millions of dollars a year, money which could otherwise be spent on other important Government services such as health, education, and supporting vulnerable children and families."
A breakdown by benefit type shows fraudulent cases relating to the domestic purposes benefit (DPB) racked up the largest amount in overpayments. Nearly $8.36 million was recorded for DPB-related prosecution cases.
Mr Borrows said the majority of beneficiaries were law-abiding citizens. Around 300,000 Kiwis were receiving benefits at any given time.
"It is only a tiny minority who think it's okay to lie, break the rules, and defraud the taxpayer.
"Those who suggest people commit welfare fraud out of need are making half-hearted excuses for the greed of a few," he said."In doing so they belittle the vast majority of beneficiaries who follow the rules, even when times are tough."
The figures reveal that fraud prosecutions relating to the invalid's benefit, unemployment benefit and accommodation supplement totalled $1 million each in overpayments during the six months to March 31.