How fraudsters steal your identity, and how there's been leap in the number of ID fraud cases

London is the country's ID fraud hotspot, with affluent commuter towns such as St Albans, Guildford and Windsor following closely behind.

How they do it

The post is the most vulnerable area of your life, where ID fraud is concerned.

The crooks' top choice of method is to forward your mail to a collection address - this was the cause of 36 per cent of identity frauds.

In second place, with 30 per cent of cases, comes present address fraud, in which someone living at the same address - often flats with communal postal delivery areas - steals your post. Previous frauds, when the criminal uses your name and a previous address to take over your ID, account for 24 per cent of cases.

Other popular cons involve:

• Forwarding your mail to a new address
• Taking over credit and bank accounts
• Stealing your belongings
• Tenancy fraud, where the tenant uses the landlord's details to borrow money
• Jackal fraud, when the criminal uses personal details of a dead person
• Card not present fraud - someone who has got hold of your credit or debit card details but not the card uses it on the Internet or over the phone

How to stop them

One precaution against identity fraud is so effective that it is recommended by the Home Office - they suggest that you check your credit report regularly.

This is the personal history of the credit you have taken out, such as loans, cards and mortgages, and any applications for new accounts, so you can easily spot unfamiliar transactions and stop problems before they can develop.

This is how 71 per cent of people who turned to Victims of Fraud for help last year discovered that they had become victims.

Many other precautions are simple common sense. For example:

• Shred or otherwise destroy sensitive information before throwing it out
• Don't give away too much personal information on social networking sites
• Protect your mail by using a lockable post box in communal areas, redirecting it for at least a year when you move home and contacting the post office if mail is going missing
• Don't carry important documents, such as your passport or driving licence, unless you need them - keep them locked away at home
• Never give away personal data to cold-callers or e-mailers
• For more information on identity fraud and how to protect yourself, visit www.identity-theft.org.uk or www.stop-idfraud.co.uk

You can see your Experian credit report for free with a 30-day trial of CreditExpert, the UK's leading credit monitoring and identity fraud protection service. You will also be alerted by e-mail or text if there is a significant change to your credit report, such as a new application for credit.

To view your personal credit information that lenders are currently basing their credit decisions on, apply now for a free online credit report. Click here for a free 30-day trial and a free copy of your Experian credit report