Fraud forces more than four million people to cancel bank cards

Around one in 10 people had to cancel a credit or debit card in the last year after falling victim to fraud, according to a new study.

The survey of more than 2,000 people found that in 62% of cases money was successfully stolen from a victim's account, with thefts averaging £475.

Nationwide, this means about 4.5 million bank cards were cancelled and more than £2.1bn stolen in the past 12 months, according to comparethemarket.com, which commissioned the study.

Around 31% of victims said they had been targeted while paying for something online, while 10% had their card duplicated at an ATM, and 8% said they had been hacked while making a contactless payment.

Jody Baker, head of money at comparethemarket.com, said - despite regular warnings about cyber attacks - people were still shocked when they fell victim.

"Most of the transactions we make now are digital and our research suggests that over a quarter of people carry as little as £10 in cash.

"With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) so many of us shopping and banking on the internet, combined with a rise in contactless payments, it is more important than ever to be vigilant when managing your money.

"It is a good idea to regularly check your bank statements for any unusual activity, as criminals often make small but regular thefts which are harder to spot than larger one-off purchases."

In July, official figures revealed fraud had become the most common type of crime in England and Wales, with almost six million incidents of fraud and computer misuse in the year to the end of March.

It included 3.8 million frauds and two million computer misuse offences, such as computer hacking.