Young, single renters are the Brits most likely to become victims of ID fraud, new research has revealed.

According to a study by CreditExpert, scammers are diverting their attentions from wealthy individuals to those on a lower income, living in rented accommodation as their details are more vulnerable.

London remained the top identity fraud hotspot, with the capital's residents being almost four times as likely to fall victim compared with the average score across the UK.

Commuter towns such as St Albans, Guildford and Windsor were also deemed to be higher risk areas.

Darryl Bowman, director of CreditExpert, said: Criminals are switching their focus from the wealthy to people whose details they can get hold of more easily. Because of this, each one of us needs to be aware of the dangers of ID fraud and take steps to protect our identity.

He added that one thing people can do to protect themselves is get a regular credit report so they can check any unusual activity.

Home insurer LV= recently claimed that increased levels of identity fraud are making it difficult for victims of scams to borrow cash as they have been blacklisted by lenders .