Plots by fraudsters attempting to con bank account holders into divulging passwords rose eightfold last year, according to the bank clearing body Apacs.

Apacs identified 14,156 separate scams in 2006 in which fraudsters set up spoof websites to gull bank customers. That was up from 1,713 in 2005.

Each attempt, known as phishing, was accompanied by a barrage of e-mails, typically going to 200,000 addresses.

But despite the soaring number of fraud attempts, the increase in money stolen was more contained, up by 44 per cent to £33.5 million.

Apacs also took heart from the fact the phishing fraud fell from £22.5 million in the first half of 2006 to £11 million in the second.

Phishing fraudsters send e-mails purporting to come from bona fide banks and building societies steering recipients to websites in which they are asked to give account details and passwords. The pretext is usually that the bank is updating its security arrangements.

Offending websites closed down by one internet service provider after being alerted by the banks often sprang up with another, Apacs said.

An Apacs spokeswoman said the scams were becoming increasingly sophisticated. “The e-mails used to be in pidgin English and you would wonder how anyone could fall for them.” Nowadays, however, some looked very authentic, she said, complete with convincing logos and information filched from the bank’s genuine website.

Banks currently refund the losses of customers successfully bamboozled by phishers, although the rules under the banking code are not clear-cut Prosecutions of phishing gangs have been extremely rare. The Serious Organised Crime Agency has responsibility for investigating the most serious cases.

About 17 million people in the UK have online current or savings accounts.

Other areas of bank fraud lessened last year, Apacs reported, with total debit and credit card fraud losses falling from £439 million to £428 million. Chip and PIN safeguards had dramatically reduced over-the-counter card fraud in shops, but there was an increase in fraudulent transactions not using chip and PIN, such as phone and internet orders.

Losses by retailers had fallen by £146.7 million over two years, thanks to chip and PIN. However, fraudsters continue to counterfeit cards, a practice known as skimming. Losses here grew by 3 per cent to £99.6 million. Fraud on UK cards used abroad, where sometimes there is no chip and PIN regime, also worsened, up 43 per cent to £118.2 million.

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