 London is the UK's epicentre for ID theft |
Londoners are far and away the biggest target of ID thieves, according to research from credit reference agency Call Credit. The group analysed incidence of ID theft in 121 UK postcode areas.
It found that London was the worst affected area with 3.7 cases per 1,000 people - almost twice the level of the second worst area, the east of England.
People are advised to guard against ID theft by shredding personal data and re-directing mail when they move home.
London targeted
Call credit analysis identified several ID fraud "hotspots".
North London is the hottest of the "hotspots" with 4.87 incidents of ID theft per 1,000 peopel over the age of 18.
 | INCIDENCE OF ID THEFT PER 1,000 PEOPLE London 3.74 cases Eastern England 1.63 South East 1.45 North West 1.07 West Midlands 1.03 East Midlands 0.89 Yorkshire & Humber 0.81 Scotland 0.71 South West 0.66 Wales 0.61 North East 0.54 Northern Ireland 0.32 Source: Call Credit |
The south-east of London was nearly as bad, with 4.83 victims per 1,000.
Outside of London, Call Credit identified St Albans, Huddersfield and Manchester as key hotspots for ID theft.
But in the main, the group said organised gangs of fraudsters were targeting affluent London boroughs and the suburbs.
"ID theft victims are most likely to be affluent and live in cities or surrounding surburbs," Mel Mitchley, Call Credit director said.
"Incidence of ID theft in London is double that of any other region, although other regions have localised hotspots.
"Only with a combined effort between the police, lenders and individuals will we be able to beat the criminals."
Bin-raiding
The Call Credit research coincides with National ID Fraud Prevention Week.
| HOW TO AVOID ID THEFT Do not use your mother's maiden name or place of birth as a security password Check your credit record annually If you move, make sure you let your bank know Shred or rip up post before throwing it in the bin Never use the same password for all your accounts Do not carry address details in your wallet Source: Which? |
On Monday, a bin-raiding test in London found nearly half of the 120 tested homes had thrown away enough information for the identity of residents to be stolen.
Researchers, helped by the council, rifled through the rubbish and re-cycling boxes thrown out by the residents.
The results gave a hint at the ease with which criminals might be able to steal valuable data.
Credit and debit card numbers had been thrown away in their rubbish by 30% of the 120 homes, the researchers found.
Documents containing bank account numbers and sort codes had been thrown away by 46% of those whose rubbish was investigated.
And 73% had thrown out paper showing their exact signature on a credit or debit card, the report said.
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