"If the person questions it and you say 'I want to see the manager', nine times out of ten they will say 'don't worry'," he said. "Card vendors have set a deadline of 2010 to put a chip in the card, which is a good start."

Mills recommends keeping a close eye on your card to prevent a merchant from "skimming" the information from the magnetic strip and cited one case where a petrol station attendant in Melbourne being paid A$25 per "skim" performed 2500 every week with most of the card details being sent to Canada.

Other precautions include setting a low limit on your card and in the words of one hacker "burn all your credit-card receipts" because nothing is safe.

Because "the crooks are trying to keep up with technology", Mills estimates it takes on average six months and A$2000 to clear your name in the event of your identity being stolen.

In a video feed to the conference, federal Attorney General Philip Ruddock said the government puts a high priority on identity management and is "constantly working to strengthen ID security".