We love the plastic don't we?

So much so, that there are 181 million plastic cards in use here in the UK; that is 4 plastic cards for every adult!

And did you know that there are also more credit cards in the UK than people?

At the end of 2006 there were 74.4 million credit and charge cards in the UK (and only around 60 million people in the country).

And it's not just the number of cards that show our love affair but the sheer amount of money we spend on them too.

Every day £500 million will be withdrawn from cash machines across the UK and 24.5 million transactions worth £1.4 billion will be spent on plastic cards.

Is it any wonder then that the UK is the card fraud capital of Europe? Probably not...

Now as if to add insult to injury, it seems that many card consumers and small businesses are having to suffer weeks of delays (and being left majorly short of cash), before being reimbursed by their banks.

It seems that some banks are taking their pretty time when it comes to refunding some of you who have had money taken from your account fraudulently; and this means that some of you have been left without access to your money for weeks on end.

Naturally some of you have been more than a little irritated by this...

Statistics from the Financial Ombudsman Service, (which deals with complaints when a dispute cannot be resolved between a customer and a financial institution), show that problems with disputed card transactions are on the rise.

The FOS is handling about 20 to 30 a week, with complaints about alleged debit card fraud having 'risen significantly'.

So why is this we hear you cry?

Well, it appears that banks are taking an increasingly tougher line on customers who have money taken from their accounts fraudulently.

'In the past, banks used to give customers the benefit of the doubt but now they are more confident of their position. They are increasingly saying that they suspect the account holder, or a member of the family, when fraud is found to have taken place,' says an FOS spokeswoman.

However, fraud victims say that front-line bank staff have told them anti-fraud departments are struggling to deal with the number of cases that are cropping up.

According to APACS (the UK payments association), the incidence of overseas fraud using cloned UK cards rose by 126% in the first six months of the year.

This meant that banks' and building societies' total card fraud losses increased by 26% over this period, despite a fall in domestic card fraud (losses at UK retailers were down 11% and those at UK cash machines down 57%).

The Banking Code, which governs the way banks deal with their customers, states that if a consumer acts 'without reasonable care' and sustains losses, the consumer could be responsible for those losses.

However, due to a legal loophole, anyone who is overdrawn when they are defrauded will only ever be liable for £50 worth of the losses if they are found to be careless, because under those circumstances they would be covered by the Consumer Credit Act rather than the Banking Code.

The code does not stipulate the amount of time a bank should take to deal with fraud; it just says that banks should take a 'common-sense approach'.

Banks using common sense? That will be the day...

So, if you have been a victim of card fraud, make sure you stay on top of how your bank is handling your case; or you could be without cash for a while!

But in the meantime, if you have been a victim of card fraud, you can expect a normal turnaround time for getting refunded by your bank to be around 5 working days. If after that time you haven't heard from them, keep pestering them until you do!

And if you haven't been a victim of card fraud, (and 20% of the population has) you can keep your account safe in the following ways:

• Don't let your cards or card details out of your sight when you are making a transaction

• Destroy, preferably by shredding, any documents or receipts that contain personal financial information when you dispose of them

• Do not keep your passwords, login details and Pin numbers written down

• Never disclose Pin numbers, login details or passwords in response to unsolicited emails claiming to be from your bank or the police

• When entering your Pin, use your free hand to shield the keypad from prying eyes or hidden cameras

• Only divulge your card details in a telephone transaction if you were the one who instigated the call and are familiar with the company

• Make sure your computer has up-to-date anti-virus software and a firewall

• Sign up to Verified by Visa and Mastercard SecureCode (for safer online shopping)

• Go to internet banking or shopping sites by typing the address into your web browser.

• Never go to a website from a link in an email

• Only shop at secure websites: ensure that the security icon (a locked padlock or unbroken key symbol) is showing somewhere in your browser window

UK is the card fraud capital of Europe