"And for the fraudster, they don't care how they get your money, as long as they get it."In all, £109m was lost to fraudulent transactions where the buyer used the phone, mail order or internet. One third of that was internet fraud.CNP fraud has grown by 33 per cent over the past two years, while fraud on British cards grew by 15 per cent to £411m overall.Experts say a growing range of techniques is used to part people from their credit or debit details. Shoppers tempted to pick up Christmas gifts online are being warned to take care after new figures revealed that fraud on the internet is rocketing. A new study by the clearing banks has discovered that online deception reached £30m in the past year, as Britons become increasingly eager to make use of the speed and convenience of cyber retailing.Every day consumers are losing about £300,000 to "card not present" (CNP) transactions, where there is no face-to-face transaction. "I expect the conciliatory approach that we have seen in the past, and I certainly recommend that approach.". A British official argued that the WTO ruling "backs our view that the decision by the US to impose these tariffs was wrong". Richard Mills, a spokesman for the US Trade Representative, said its tariff measures were designed to give the US steel industry "breathing space needed to restructure and consolidate thereby becoming stronger and more competitive".

This, he said, was consistent with WTO rules which allow short-term measures to cover restructuring. He added: "We disagree with the overall Appellate Body Findings. We will be reviewing the WTO report carefully."The WTO's director general, Supachai Panitchpakdi, said he hoped the countries would be able to solve the problem without resorting to sanctions."I'm sure there will be some way out," he said yesterday. Washington is already retaliating against an EU ban on beef from cattle which are given hormones to stimulate growth.A spokeswoman for the EU trade commissioner, Pascal Lamy, said the measures were "not there to punish the US but to focus the minds of the US administration" The EU did not need to use these sanctions, she said. The EU has threatened to impose another set of sanctions against Washington from next spring if it does not repeal tax breaks for American exporters.

Meanwhile, the WTO is considering a complaint from the US that Europe is blocking the import of genetically modified products. But the White House is also facing heavy political pressure from "rust-belt" states such as Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio to keep the steel import duties, which are due to continue until 2005.The steel row is only one of a number of trade disputes which threaten to poison relations between the EU and the US, and could help stymie prospects for economic recovery. They say that the tariffs have increased the price of their raw materials, causing job losses and making vehicles more expensive for consumers. The American government issued a statement yesterday saying that it disagreed with the ruling but would study it carefully.The WTO's decision comes at a sensitive time, with the US presidential campaign about to begin in earnest. In drawing up its list of sanctions, the EU has deliberately selected products from states which are crucial to President Bush's electoral hopes.The steel tariffs have proved controversial in the US, where they dented President Bush's credentials as an advocate of free trade and angered American-based car makers.