Online banking fraud losses rose 44 per cent between 2005 and 2006, according to new figures.

Fraud committed over the internet accounted for losses of £33.5 million last year, the Association for Payment Clearing Services (Apacs) revealed.

However, the total amount of credit card fraud went down almost £80 million over the past two years, the organisation indicated.

Simon Bennett, a spokesperson for Apacs, said: "The biggest fraud at the moment is card-not-present fraud and that is where the fraudster uses our details over the internet or over the phone.

"The industry is now looking at ways in which we can tackle this type of fraud."

Mr Bennett added that chip and pin has "had a massive impact" on the decrease of overall criminal deception, particularly face-to-face fraud.

The Identity Fraud Consumer Awareness Group suggests that running regular credit reports can help guard against financial crime.