Credit card consumers in the West continue to fall victims to cash-card scammers long despite the availability chip and pin technology.

Latest figures suggest that credit card fraud is still on the rise as con artists perfect ways of siphoning money from consumers bank accounts.

Reports reveal that criminals are getting more techno savvy and are now transporting abroad personal information from where they then take the money.

APACS, the UK payments association released figures showing that total card fraud losses in 2007 came to £535.2 million, up a quarter on 2006.

Several ATMs in the city centre had devices attached to card slots and victims reported hundreds, and in one case several thousands of pounds, being withdrawn or spent using their cards.

PC Charles Naylor, Herefordshire crime risk manager, said: “These sorts of offences are carried out by organised criminals often using sophisticated methods. It is not always obvious that a machine has been tampered with.”

A key driver behind this was the 77% increase in overseas fraud by criminals using stolen UK card details in countries yet to get chip and pin. Credit card fraud staged abroad now accounts for 39% of all card scams.

Phone, internet and mail order fraud was up 37%, with counterfeit skimming or cloned card fraud up 46%.

In the West, police have recorded some important victories over fraudsters but residents are still being scammed. Earlier this year, Hereford was hit by cash machine fraudsters.

But the credit card scam is not limited to the West, only last week, fraudsters reportedly stole thousands of pounds from customers in one of Loughton’s busiest petrol station.

The incident sent panic across the district with consumers forced to check their bank accounts and there is real fear that a number of customers could find their accounts cleared out.

Banking giant HSBC announced that investigations were underway to establish how the scam could have happened but speculated that the fraudsters could have used a skimming device mounted on a cashpoint or a credit reading machine.

The bank also asked all customers who had recently used their bank card at the site to visit the local branch as a ‘precautionary measure’.

Only two years ago, Pin codes were an almost guaranteed safety measure that protected consumers against credit card scammers. Today, it is different story with more consumers falling victim to credit card scams.

In the West, police continue to battle card fraudsters as the number of victims rise. Reports also suggest that earlier this year, Hereford was hit by cash machine fraudsters.

Detective Sergeant Terry Greenhow, of Avon and Somerset's economic crime team, said, “We had a case quite recently through the courts which saw a conviction for skimming cards at a petrol station. “There have been a few cases of card fraud down here but they primarily occur around the M25 corridor.”

Police now believe that card criminals have found a loophole in the chip and pin method and are using it to defraud credit card consumers.

Some reports suggest that card-cloning in Europe is now on the decrease compared to 18 months ago. The introduction of chip and pin has also had a significant effect on fraud, because in the UK chip and pin can only be used over the phone or on the internet.

Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS, added: “Although card fraud levels have now begun to go up again due to fraud abroad and card-not-present fraud losses, chip and pin has proven to be an undoubted success in reducing card fraud on the UK high street.”

A recent survey by ‘life assistance’ firm CPP revealed fraud has had a damaging effect on consumer confidence in the West.

According to the survey findings, people living in Bristol tend to blame any increases in fraud and identity theft on their banks and feel it is the sole responsibility of banks or credit card issuers to resolve problems with their accounts.

Zoe Manton, head of card protection at CPP, said, “The findings show that people are over reliant on others when it comes to preventing fraud and need to be more responsible in looking after their bank accounts.”