Identity fraud jumps 66 per cent

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New figures released today have revealed the rate at which victims of identity fraud are seeking help rose by two-thirds (66 per cent) last year.

According to the Victims of Fraud Dossier, published by Experian, more than 6,000 victims sought help from the credit reference company's victims of fraud team during 2007, compared to just over 3,500 in 2006.

It said it had also been able to identify UK hotspots and those groups most targeted by fraudsters, using data analysis from more than 10,000 identity fraud cases it had dealt with.

Kensington was the capital's identity fraud hotspot, where its residents were three-and-a-half times more likely to fall victim compared to the UK average. And residents of Richmond-upon-Thames, Putney, Wimbledon and the Kings Road area in Chelsea are also among those at highest risk.

But analysis by postcode also found residents living in the SW17 6 postal sector, which centres on College Gardens in Tooting, south London, needed to be most wary of identity fraud as they were almost fives times more likely than the UK average to become a victim of identity fraud.

Outside of London, the risk of identity fraud exceeds four times the national average in the CB23 5 postal sector (encompassing Great Cambourne near Cambridge), NN4 5 (Far Cotton in Northampton) and TS17 5 (Ingleby Barwick in Stockton-on-Tees).

The analysis also found victims aged 26 to 45, who were homeowners earning more that £50,000 a year were at highest risk.

Likewise, those either at director level or running their own businesses were the most at-risk consumer type, being almost three times more likely to fall victim, while highly successful and well-paid directors were two-and-a-half times more likely to become a target.

Experian also said those living in rented accommodation were more likely to share mail boxes and tended to move house more frequently than homeowners, providing more opportunities for fraudsters to misuse credit histories that have not been updated.

Meanwhile, analysis of fraud first reported to Experian during the second half of 2007 revealed that forwarding address fraud - where a fraudster redirects the victim's post to a drop address - continues to grow and is now the most commonly perpetrated method, representing 36 per cent of identity fraud. Present address fraud, previously the most common method, declined to 30 per cent.

Helen Lord, Experian director of fraud and compliance, said the rate of identity fraud growth was worrying and coincided with the increasing involvement of organised criminals.

"Although some people are statistically more likely than others to become a victim, we should all be concerned," she added. "We are all potential victims."

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