Petrol stations in London and the south east are victims of more than half of all UK fuel-related card fraud, according to a report by Arval PHH, the fleet and fuel management company, and operator of the AllStar fuel card.

Based on the latest figures released by the Association for Payment Clearing Services, Arval PHH has identified the five regions where the most credit and debit card fraud on fuel purchases took pace in 2002 and the amounts lost.

Last year plastic card fraud losses on forecourts came to just under £20 million – £10.5m of that fraud occurred within London and the south east; £2m in the West Midlands; £1.5m in the north west; £1.4m in Yorkshire & Humberside; and £800,000 in Scotland.

The growth of card fraud has led to the introduction of Online Authorisation, an electronic fraud prevention system.

“OLA is helping to slam the door on fraudsters,” said Danny Clenaghan, managing director of Fuel and Business Mobility at Arval PHH. “Any card that is used to pay for fuel at a site with OLA capability is immediately checked against a hot list of lost and stolen cards.”