APACS, the UK payments association today published a guide giving UK consumers simple advice when travelling abroad with their debit and credit cards.

Although UK card fraud losses that occur overseas have fallen for the fourth consecutive quarter, Apacs is warning consumers not to be complacent.

With three countries accounting for over one-third (40 per cent) of this fraud - France and USA accounting for 14 per cent each and Spain coming in third at 12 per cent - Apacs hopes that the guide, "Using your cards on holiday" will help drive this down still further.

It said if consumers download the guide from its site, they will get a wealth of advice. This covers payments abroad, including the latest tips on how to use cards safely and how to get the best deal when either taking cash out of a cash machine or just buying a gift.

Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS, said: "More and more each year our cards rank alongside passports and suncream as holiday essentials.

"After all, we spent nearly £21 billion abroad last year, and this figure is set to increase in 2006. It's important that cardholders follow the simple advice set out in our guide and use their cards safely when they are abroad. .

"While industry initiatives, such as chip and PIN , have made the life of the international card thief more difficult, we must still follow a few simple rules to make sure we are protected when on holiday.

"Simple things like using a concealed money belt to hide our cards and checking our statements carefully on our return can make all the difference".