Incidents of online credit card fraud have increased by 131 per cent over the last year, it has emerged.

A report from Retail Decisions (ReD) reveals that the increase has been in part fuelled by the amount of goods that are now purchased online by UK card-holders. Stolen credit cards are generally used to generate fake customer details, which are then used online to order goods.

Online shopping levels have increased by 88 per cent, ReD states.

Carl Clump, chief executive of ReD, said that internet purchases show fraudsters' traditional taste for high-end electronic goods.

"The iPhone [is] one of the must-have products for this Christmas and at ReD, our risk analysts will monitor purchasing patterns of this item with an extra level of vigilance," he commented.

"Other current popular targets on the top of fraudsters' shopping list we are seeing at the moment are gift cards, the LG Shine mobile, Nintendo DS Lite Consoles and the Apple iPod video."

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