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The UK's banking payments service, APACS, has announced a 13 per cent fall in fraud over the first six months of 2005, the first fall in 10 years, which it attributes to the introduction of chip and PIN.

However Internet, phone and mail order fraud, which are grouped together as 'card not present' crimes, rose by 29 per cent.

'The majority of this type of fraud is card details being stolen in the real world and then used to buy goods on the Internet,' said APACS spokesman Mark Bowerman.

Card not present fraud on UK cards was worth £90.6m in the first half of this year, of which £58m, 64 per cent, took place on the Internet. All other major forms of card fraud fell sharply, including cash machine fraud, counterfeiting, loss or theft of cards, non-receipt of mail and ID theft, through scams such as phishing.

Sandra Quinn, director of corporate communications for APACS, said that although Net fraud is rising the absolute figure remains small.

'These

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latest online fraud losses are comparatively low considering the huge number of transactions now being carried out online and it is clear that fraudsters are having more success targeting cards than online bank accounts - so our campaign is focused on cardholders,' she said. 'Probably nearly everyone with access to the Internet will buy something online this Christmas and there is absolutely no reason why they shouldn't do this in complete confidence providing they follow some very simple rules.'

APACS tips for online safety include never letting your card out of your sight, not using an unsecured computer, setting your browser to its highest security level, printing out your orders and considering getting a separate card solely for Internet purchases to make it easier to identify fraudulent transactions. It also recommends that Net shoppers sign up to Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode where possible.

The crime prevention charity Crimestoppers has set up a phone line where people can anonymously report information about card fraud: 0800 555 111. Its director of communications, Jane Reay, urged online shoppers to follow APACS' security advice on its Card Watch and Get Safe Online websites.