Customer losses incurred by card fraud have declined by five per cent over the first six months of 2006, according to Apacs, the UK payments association.

The fall from £219.5 million to £209.3 million, has been attributed to the roll-out of chip and pin technologies across consumer outlets.

“These latest fraud figures show that the industry’s efforts are making their mark,” said Sandra Quinn, director of corporate communications at Apacs.

At the same time, online banking fraud has risen, though at a slower rate than in previous years and a much slower rate than the growth in the number of online transactions.

Card-not-present fraud, which can affect online, phone or mail order transactions, has grown by five per cent between 2005 and 2006, down from a 29 per cent rise between 2004 and 2005.

Sandra Quinn urged consumers to remain vigilant, keeping pins and passwords secure.

Recent Apacs research has revealed that 25 per cent of all Britons have disclosed their pin to someone else and 27 per cent use the same pin across all their cards.

Consumers are advised to adopt safeguarding measures including shredding documents containing personal financial information and installing up-to-date security software.

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