Credit card users are being urged to stay extra safe after new figures have revealed many of those who are targeted by fraudsters are not reimbursed.

According to Which?, one in five people is not given compensation after being subjected to fraudulent activity, despite claiming to not have acted negligently with their cards.

"Most of us know that we shouldn’t write down our pin, but we should also shred bank statements, be cautious about the passwords we use and think twice before posting personal details online," suggested Martyn Hocking, editor of Which?.

He added that identity fraud is both inconvenient and stressful for victims of it and can even prove costly to those who are denied compensation.

Figures published by payment association Apacs show that plastic cards accounted for 66 per cent of all UK retail spending last year.

Debit cards, on the other hand, accounted for two thirds of all retail spending on cards and credit cards activity increased by two per cent to £126.2 billion last year.