The amount of money lost due to fraud on credit and debit cards in the UK rose in 2015 by 18% to £492m (€585m; $656m), fuelled by online shopping and data breaches.

The rise was the sharpest recorded in 19 European countries studied by Fico.

The software analytics firm said card fraud was a growing challenge for the financial services industry as more and more consumers conduct transactions or shop online.

The UK contributed 43% of the total card fraud losses across Europe.

Most of the increase in card fraud in Britain came from online transactions and the theft of personal data through cybercrime.

"We cardholders are very demanding, and if we don't get what we want then we let people know in the form of reviews and feedback, not to mention switching cards," said Martin Warwick, Fico's fraud chief in Europe.

"Banks want to avoid intervening unnecessarily when customers are shopping on the internet.

"E-commerce spending in the UK has nearly quadrupled since 2007, so you see why this is such a target for criminals."

Overall, 10 of the 19 countries studied saw increases in card fraud in 2015, with Greece, Denmark, France and Russia posting the highest rises after the UK.

Kendrick Sands, senior analyst at Euromonitor, warned: "The further projected increase in online payments over the forecast period suggests additional security measures will be required throughout Europe.

"If greater security measures are not adopted to combat card not present fraud, the broader advance of card payments over paper alternatives could be negatively impacted."