Chip and PIN couldn't be easier to use. Instead of signing a paper receipt to verify a card payment, you enter a four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN), just like you do at a cash machine.

After 14 February 2006 things got tougher for the fraudsters, as everyone using chip and PIN cards now has to use their PIN to be sure they can pay.

There are a number of important exceptions where cardholders can continue to sign:

• cardholders who have an old style card that has yet to be upgraded
• cardholders from overseas who have an old style card that has yet to be upgraded
• disabled cardholders who have a chip and signature card

Thanks to chip and PIN, in 2005, there was a reduction of nearly £60m in counterfeit and fraud on lost and stolen cards when compared to 2004.