Cash still king as Brits leave cards at home

The majority of Brits prefer cash over cards when they are abroad, for fear of falling victim to fraudsters.

According to a survey by insurance services company CPP, 60 per cent of people prefer to take cash on holiday when they go overseas. Even more are worried about fraudulent activity when they travel, with 80 per cent concerned they are vulnerable when paying for goods in shops or using cash machines.

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CPP pointed out, however, that tourists' concerns might be misplaced, citing Apacs data showing actual fraud abroad accounts for only 39 per cent of UK card theft and fraud.

The company, which offers insurance on sundries, including payment cards, wallets and mobile phones to third parties to market to their customers while they are travelling abroad, said it received 7,000 cases of stolen credit and debit cards between June 2007 and July 2008. More than a quarter of these cases occurred in Spain, more than double the amount in the country with the next highest volume of reports, France.

CPP said only a quarter of travellers questioned took the time to inform their bank that they will be away and the same number checked receipts against card statements.

In a statement, CPP card fraud expert Kerry D'Souza said: "Awareness about card fraud abroad is growing but consumers are still not taking the basic security steps. Given overseas losses from card fraud was £207.6m in 2007, it is vital that the financial sector continues to educate Brits about the risk it presents."

Research was conducted with 1,699 UK adults between 8 and 13 August.