Card fraud committed online, by telephone, and by mail order was down last year, for the first time.

Findings from the UK Cards Association claim that 2009 saw this kind of fraud decline by 19 per cent – from 328.4 million pounds in 2008, to 266.4 million pounds last year.

On the whole, losses accounted for through British cards were lower on the first occasion since 2006.

This figure has decreased by 28 per cent from last year's total of 440.3 million pounds, is down to chip and pin technology and improved security on retail websites.

David Cooper, Chairman of the Fraud Control Steering Group said some factors behind the decrease include fraud screening detection tools by retailers and banks.

This is in addition to the expansion in MasterCard SecureCode and Verified, by Visa, used by both online retailers, and cardholders.