If you have had money stolen from your bank accounts or credit cards as a result of fraud or identity theft, then unless the bank is sure you took care to protect your banking details, they won’t pay up and the police won’t bother to investigate the case either.

This leaves you in a legal black hole. Unless you yourself can prove who stole the money (some chance!), you have no way of getting either justice or compensation.

And in the mean time you’re out of pocket – and probably big time!

In the four years since chip & pin systems were introduced, fraud on bank cards has halved but it is still running at the rate of £54 million a year. But remember, this figure represents the money the banks lost. It doesn’t take into account the stolen monies that the banks would not reinstate.

Under the Banking Code, you are entitled to claim for any money fraudulently taken from your accounts unless the banks believe you have acted irresponsibly. In practice, this means that if your bank thinks you did not keep your banking details secure, they won’t repay the money that’s been stolen from your accounts.