Credit card fraud via the internet, phone and mail order has leapt 29% over the past year, the Association of Payment Clearing Services (Apacs) says.

"Card not present" fraud, as it is called, rose £20m to £91m, the majority of this being committed online.
But overall, card fraud totalled £219m in the first half of 2005, down from £252m in the same six months last year.