The latest crime figures released yesterday by the British Crime Survey show a 14 per cent jump in personal theft. The quarterly figures for England and Wales from July to September last year show that the number of robberies continues to rise.

Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS, says: "The overwhelming majority of cash machine withdrawals take place crime free, but cardholders still need to be aware of the common sense steps to take when you use a cash machine. These guidelines are designed to provide helpful tips and advice on how to minimise the risk of becoming a victim of this type of crime."

Top tips: How cardholders can prevent themselves becoming a victim of crime when withdrawing money from a cash machine

1. Choosing a Cash Machine

• Put your personal safety first.
• Be aware of others around you. If someone close to the cash machine is behaving suspiciously or makes you feel uncomfortable choose another.
• If there is anything unusual about the cash machine, or there are signs of tampering, do not use the machine and report it to the bank immediately.
• If you suspect that a skimming device has been attached to a cash machine, inform staff within the bank or, if this is not possible, inform the police. Put your personal safety first and do not attempt to remove it yourself.

2. Using a cash machine

• Be aware of your surroundings. If someone is crowding or watching you, cancel the transaction and go to another machine.
• Do not accept help from seemingly well-meaning strangers and never allow yourself to be distracted.
• Stand close to the cash machine and always shield the keypad to avoid anyone seeing you enter your PIN.

3. Leaving a cash machine

• Once you have completed a transaction, discreetly put your money and card away before leaving the cash machine.If the cash machine does not return your card, report its loss immediately to your bank.
• Tear up or preferably shred your cash machine rereceipt, mini-statement or balance enquiry when you dispose of them.

4. Fact from fiction

• Contrary to recent speculation, if you enter your PIN backwards at a cash machine it will NOT alert law enforcement of a potential threat. It will only serve to delay your withdrawal and may incite frustration from would-be assailants. Put your personal safety first.

The payments industry is also working in partnership with the Local Government Association (LGA) to try to reduce cash machine crime at a grassroots level. One solution currently being implemented is the use of privacy spaces for on-street cash machines. Privacy spaces comprise a zoned area marked on the ground in front of the cash machine to enable users to enter their PIN in private. Following a trial by the Greater Manchester Police, it was found that on introducing privacy spaces, offences (geographically connected to a cash machine) reduced by 66 per cent within 150m of the cash machine.

Sandra Quinn says: "While a zoned area around a cash machine may not seem like much of a deterrent, the research speaks volumes. In the same way that we are trying to raise consumer awareness with tips on how to minimise your chances of becoming a victim, these marked-out areas are a visual reminder to the cash machine user to be vigilant and a clear sign for others to respect the privacy of the person in the space. APACS is fully behind this initiative and the major banks have committed to match local government funding as a way to fast track the rollout of this initiative where there is a high incidence of fraud."

There were approximately 60,000 cash machines in the UK at the end of 2006. Britons make the largest number of cash machine withdrawals of any country in the EU - 2.7 billion transactions in total in 2005 - worth over £170 billion. The busiest day of the week at cash machines is Friday while the average amount we withdraw from a bank-owned machine is £65.