Part of Tooting has been identified as the place most at risk of identity fraud out of anywhere in the country.

A report from credit information firm Experian revealed that Londoners are almost twice as likely to become victims of identity fraud compared to the rest of the country and said identity fraud has leapt by 66 per cent in Britain in the last year.

It named the pockets of the capital which are most at risk, exposing the Tooting postcode SW17 6, centred on College Gardens, as an area where residents are five times more likely to become victims of identity fraud than the UK average.

People living in West Ewell, Putney, Wimbledon and Battersea are also among those at highest risk, Experian said.

The report stated that the typical identity fraud victim is aged between 26 and 45 and earning more than £50,000 a year.

It said those who rent are also at higher risk of identify fraud because they tend to share mail boxes and move house more frequently, providing more opportunity for their credit histories to be misused by fraudsters.

Helen Lord, director of fraud and compliance at Experian, said: "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."