Company bosses far more prone to ID theft

Information service company Experian also revealed that compared to the UK national average, directors of smaller companies were almost two-and-a-half times more likely to suffer from identity fraud. Overall the company had seen a 66% increase in identity crime over the past year.

London remained the UK's identity fraud capital, with residents almost twice as likely to fall victim than the rest of the population. Those living in affluent areas such as Kensington, Richmond-upon-Thames, Putney, Wimbledon and the Kings Road area in Chelsea were among those at highest risk.

Outside of London, places where the risk of fraud was more than four times the UK average included Great Cambourne near Cambridge, Far Cotton, Northampton, and Ingleby Barwick, Stockton-on-Tees.

According to Experian, the typical identity fraud victim was aged between 26 and 45 and earned more than £50,000 a year.

Those renting their homes were also at higher risk of identify fraud because they tended to share mail boxes and moved house more frequently, providing more opportunity for their credit histories to be misused by fraudsters, the report claimed.

Organised criminals

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said protecting personal information had "never been so important".

A spokesman said: "Almost every day we give out our personal details which can leave us open to risks like identity fraud. We encourage individuals to think about the ways in which they can protect their personal information, which include shredding old documents and using different passwords and PINs for different accounts."

Helen Lord, director of fraud and compliance at Experian, commented: "The dramatic increases in identity fraud we have witnessed over the last few years have coincided with the increasing involvement of organised criminals in this space.

"The rate of identity fraud growth is worrying. Although some people are statistically more likely than others to become a victim, we should all be concerned. We are all potential victims."

The report claimed that "forwarding address fraud" was the most common method used to commit identity fraud - where criminals redirected post to another location.

Full research and analysis can be found in Experian's 'Victims of Fraud Dossier' which can be viewed/downloaded (pdf) here.