20 June 2006
The amount of fraud committed overseas using UK credit and debit cards has fallen for the fourth consecutive year, according to the country's payments association.
Apacs has now released a new online guide to help consumers keep their cards safe while on holiday or away abroad.
While fraud is falling, a total of £82.8 million is still fraudulently taken using UK cards and Apacs says it wants to avoid complacency among UK tourists.
"More and more each year our cards rank alongside passports and sun cream as holiday essentials. After all, we spent nearly £21 billion abroad last year, and this figure is set to increase in 2006," said Sandra Quinn, director of communications at Apacs. "It's important that cardholders follow the simple advice set out in our guide and use their cards safely when they are abroad.
"While industry initiatives, such as chip and PIN, have made the life of the international card thief more difficult, we must still follow a few simple rules to make sure we are protected when on holiday. Simple things like using a concealed money belt to hide our cards and checking our statements carefully on our return can make all the difference."
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