Some of Britain’s high-street banks have refused to guarantee that sensitive customer details will not be dumped in bin bags outside bank branches — despite being publicly censured by a watchdog last week.

Their failure to provide assurances followed a scathing report by Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, which found 11 UK banks guilty of leaving details such as account numbers, sort codes and addresses outside branches — potentially exposing customers to fraudsters.

His rebuke was issued in the same week that Apacs, the payments association, released its latest fraud figures. Identity theft, where personal information is used to open bank accounts and run up bills in other people’s names, has risen 5 per cent to £31.9m.

“Card not present” fraud — where stolen information is used to buy goods online, over the phone or by mail because no Pin number is required — has also increased by 16 per cent to £213m over the past 12 months, and now accounts for just under 50 per cent of all card-fraud losses.

Thomas found that banks had breached the Data Protection Act by their negligence and ordered them to sign an undertaking to comply with the act. He has threatened to take them to court if they are found to be in breach.

David Smith, the deputy information commissioner, said: “It is unacceptable for banks and other organisations to carelessly discard their customers’ information. It is vital they take security seriously.”

Royal Bank of Scotland was found to have left information such as provisional driving-licence details in bins outside branches in Manchester, Notting-ham and Glasgow.

The bank said: “We take the matter of confidential waste extremely seriously and we have very strict procedures in place. Any breaches of these procedures are totally unacceptable.” However, the bank refused to explain its procedures and could not offer any guarantees.

HBOS said that it had “learnt some lessons about the importance of dealing with confidential information correctly”. It too declined to explain procedures and did not offer any promises.

Alliance & Leicester, however, was more forthcoming. “We no longer leave any customer details outside branches. All information is kept within branches before it is disposed of,” it said. Personal details are then either shredded or incinerated by an outside security firm.

“If the procedures are adhered to — and all staff are trained and we regularly make checks to ensure that procedures are followed — then it won’t happen again,” it said.

Barclays said it separated secure waste. This was later collected and disposed of by a contractor.

Nationwide said that it had “reviewed and reinforced” procedures and asked an independent analyst to examine them. It would “review and monitor compliance standards of all employees relating to the handling and disposal of confidential waste”.

Other banks, not named and shamed, were also unable to offer guarantees. “The sheer volume of information we handle can, albeit with extreme rarity, be open to human error,” said HSBC. Lloyds TSB, not named in the commissioner’s report, said it had a chief security officer who was directly responsible for ensuring that confidential information was protected.

Apacs urges online shoppers to register with Verified by Visa (visaeurope.com/verified) and MasterCard SecureCode (master-card.com/uk/securecode) whenever they are given the option of doing so.

Cardholders simply need to register a private password with their card company for use when shopping online at participating retailers, which means they are less likely to fall victim to card-not-present fraud.

Equifax, a credit-ratings firm, said consumers themselves needed to ensure they were careful with personal information.

Neil Munroe, external affairs director at the company, said: “The only real defence for individuals is to be more vigilant themselves.”

If you believe fraudsters might have obtained your personal details and are using them to open accounts, you can obtain a copy of your credit file from Equifax for £2.

Consumers can also sign up to monitoring services that alert users via text message about any changes to their credit rating as soon as they happen.

The service costs £7.50 a month with Equifax.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

Fraud Percentage Change

Online banking fraud

Fraudulent emails trick you into divulging your personal details (called phishing) Up 44 per cent

Card not present fraud

Card details used to make purchases online, by phone or mail order Up 16 per cent

Counterfeit cards

Cards cloned using skimming machines that read magnetic strip then used abroad Up 3 per cent

Card ID fraud

Victim’s personal details used to apply for a new credit card, or transfer existing card to another address Up 5 per cent

Cheque fraud

Cheques forged or stolen Down 24 per cent

Mail fraud

Card intercepted by fraudster before it reaches you Down 64 per cent